By Year's End
by Unjax
Summary: Jaune's training is going well, but when Goodwitch gives him a deadline to show what he's capable of, Jaune seeks aid from Pyrrha. However, the spartan is dealing with her own problem, and refuses to even speak with her partner. Meanwhile, Blake's past catches up with her and she must confront a demon from her past. How will the three hunters in training cope with their problems?
1. Chapter 1

_Thunk_

That was a sound that was becoming incredibly familiar to Jaune Arc. No matter how hard he tried, his training sessions with Pyrrha always seemed to end the same way. Him, pinned by the hood of his sweater to the rooftop by a long javelin. Jaune sighed heavily.

They had been doing this for the past few months. Every night after classes, Pyrrha and Jaune would come up to the rooftop and work on Jaune's fighting abilities. On the bright side, he had improved a lot, however, that really wasn't saying much. Pyrrha, for her part, was an excellent tutor, and seemed to have endless reserves of patience for the awkward blonde.

Jaune looked up and met eyes with the red head, who smiled back at him reassuringly.

"Much better Jaune!" she beamed at him. "You kept your stance properly through most of that sparring match. But remember, keep your arms up, even if you're tired. Dropping them, especially your shield, leaves you very open to attack." That's how most of her comments went, Jaune remarked. Some positive support, as per Pyrrha's caring nature, along with critical feedback. Endless things he was doing wrong.

"Right," was all Jaune said, a little flatly.

Jaune was starting to despair a little at his training. It seemed that even though he put in countless hours of training, many more than any other student, he still seemed to be so much further behind all the others. He was starting to grow frustrated with the pattern.

Pyrrha walked up to him, her supportive smile never wavering. She grabbed hold of Milos and drew the spear out of the wall, allowing Jaune to slump to the ground. She knelt down next to him and held her hand out. Jaune took it and she helped him to his feet.

"Let's try it again." She said, her voice upbeat as usual. But Jaune sighed.

He walked over to where he had dropped his sword and shield when Pyrrha had pinned him to the wall. He picked them up off the ground and readjusted them so they fit loosely in his hands. He looked at Pyrrha and she smiled reassuringly at him again. She stood straight, but her legs were slightly staggered, indicating she was ready to take her stance at a moments notice. Jaune closed his eyes and thought. He went through the mental checklist of everything he had to focus on.

_Legs shoulder width apart, feet staggered. _

_Shield arm forward, towards the opponent. _

_Sword arm at the ready, loose grip, not too tight..._

_Eyes never leave your opponent._

_Arms up, don't let them drop._

_React to your opponent, don't force any movement. _

The list went on, and when he felt ready and prepared, he nodded at his adversary and tutor. Her supportive smile turned serious immediately as she sauntered calmly towards her prey. She wasn't in her stance, and her arms hung loosely at her sides, but Jaune had learned that this didn't mean she was off guard. When she was a few paces away, Jaune launched himself forward, intending to bash her with his shield, but as he lunged, she sidestepped and gave him a sharp rap on the back with Milos.

"Don't overcommit." She commanded sharply as Jaune whipped around, shield up and ready, expecting a flurry of attacks. She stood a few paces away, now in full battle stance. This time she came at him, laying several blows against his shield. He allowed her to continue, until he saw an opening, Pyrrha was beating him down, hailing powerful strikes down from above, but this left her left ankle open, only slightly. Jaune took his chance and struck out with his blade towards her grieves. Seeing his attack coming, Pyrrha skipped over his swinging blade and hit his arm with the flat of her blade, causing him to over extend and lose balance slightly. Pyrrha took this opportunity to knock him over with her shield, and in one fluid motion, straddled him, pinning him to the ground. She sat on top of him for a moment, Milos hovering over Jaune's throat. Jaune looked up into her eyes, and she looked back. He looked up into her lovely emerald eyes, and looked at her delicate features. For someone so fierce, he thought, she sure is lovely. As they lay there, her scent wafted over him. She smelled like fresh juniper berries Jaune noted. He was only able to hold her gaze for a moment though, turning away quickly and blushing slightly. He was a little uncomfortable in their current position. Pyrrha chuckled heartily, and got off of him. She again leant her hand in aiding him stand. Gratefully Jaune took it. The two dusted themselves off, and Pyrrha took her stance once more.

"Uh, Pyrrha? I can't exactly keep this up." Pyrrha looked at him, confused for a moment before he showed her his scroll, which showed his team's aura levels. His only had a sliver of red left, whereas Pyrrha's was left utterly unscathed. He hadn't even touched her.

"Oh.." she said sheepishly. "I'm sorry Jaune!"

"That's fine," he answered, and chuckled nervously. "Maybe we could go back to the room now, I've got that project to finish up for professor Port." Jaune suggested.

The two of them strolled down the staircase in a comfortable silence, Jaune thinking about his most recent training session. Two things stuck out to him. First was that, for the first time for months, Jaune hadn't ended the session pinned to the wall. Second was the awkward way Pyrrha had pinned him. He doubted she even registered the event, to her it was probably just another victory, but Jaune couldn't deny the shot of adrenaline that had shot through him at the close contact, and how her features looked so delicate and perfectly shaped. No matter how closely he looked, he couldn't find a single flaw with the spartan warrior. He glanced over at her, walking confidently next to him, and took a moment to gaze at her perfect features once more. Seemingly sensing his gaze, Pyrrha looked back at him and smiled. Jaune's mind blanked at his lovely team mate's stunning smile, and his foot caught on the flat floor. He tripped and fell down.

"Gahh!"

"Jaune!" Pyrrha exclaimed, then started laughing at her team leader's clumsiness. "Oh Jaune, do look where you're going."

"Uh... yeah, right." was all Jaune could manage, too embarrassed and flustered to respond properly.

After that, the two quickly made their way back to the dorm. When they opened the door, they were met by a sight Jaune was not anticipating.

"Nora, please," called an exasperated Ren, "stop it." The red haired, pink loving, overly energetic Nora was busy bouncing between all four beds, which were in the corners of the relatively large room.

"Wheeeeeeeee! Come on Ren! It's fun." Ren looked helplessly at the two new arrivals, and Jaune sighed.

"Nora, please, can we have our beds back?" Jaune asked her. At his voice, Nora stopped and looked at him, her smile disappearing.

"No bouncing?" She asked

"no bouncing." Ren and Jaune confirmed in unison.

"Alright!" She said happily, making one final bounce to her own bed, where she did a back flip onto her back. She lay there and fell asleep within seconds, as the three other members of team JNPR stared in slight shock. Jaune was quickly learning to expect the unexpected when sharing a room with Nora. However, he was too exhausted to properly care about what he had just witnessed. He grabbed his blue onesie and went into the washroom and had a quick shower, scrubbing out the sweat he had worked up. He finished up and came out of the washroom and flopped straight onto his bed. He was exhausted from his hard training session with Pyrrha.

"What about your project, Jaune?" Pyrrha inquired, and was answered by a heavy groan. Jaune got out of bed, which had gotten very comfortable very fast, and lumbered over to the table that the team shared.

"You're not done that yet?" Ren asked, genuinely surprised.

"Of course I'm done," Jaune answered defiantly, "I just haven't put it on paper yet. Or thought up what I'm going to write." Pyrrha giggled. She had finished the project within a few hours of its assignment three days ago.

"Would you like some help?" She asked.

"Thanks Pyrrha, but I wouldn't want you to stay up late for me."

"I don't mind," she replied genuinely. Jaune looked up at her, and she smiled down at him.

"You're a life saver." He answered. She sat down next to him.

"So what's a Nevermore again?" Pyrrha laughed. "Is it those big scorpion thingies?"

"Nope," Pyrrha managed to squeak out between bursts of laughter.

"The wolf things...? Oh I'm failing this project aren't I?"

"Come on Jaune, let's open the books." Pyrrha said, laughter still bubbling in her voice.

With Pyrrha's help, it only took Jaune a few hours to finish the project, he was amazed at how she seemed to know each piece of relevant information that Jaune started to leaf through the books for.

It was just past midnight when the two tired team mates finally put the finishing touches on Jaune's project. He leafed through it quickly, noticing that it was probably the best school project he had ever made. This was due in part to Pyrrha's aid, but also came from Jaune not wanting to disappoint her. He worked harder on that project than any paper or homework he had ever done before. Pyrrha stood up and stretched, her thin nightwear showing off her powerful and shapely body. Jaune averted his gaze, and stood with her.

"Pyrrha..." he began. She turned to face her team leader, eyes kind and the hint of a smile playing across her soft lips. "Thanks. A lot."

"Any time Jaune." She replied. The two moved off to their respective beds, Jaune switching off the desk light on his way past. As he got into bed he found it hard to sleep. He kept thinking about the day. His slight victory in not being pinned by his hoodie to a wall, and his accomplishment on the school project. Two points of pride, both all thanks to Pyrrha. She had done a lot for him, and before his fatigue over took him, he resolved to make it up to her somehow.

Blake stared down at the envelope in her hand, the wolf head with a claw mark through it in the top right. She had gotten back to the dorm at about 2:00 in the morning, and found it waiting on the edge of her door._ Not good, _she thought to herself She stood outside the dorm for some time staring at it, not daring to open it. _Tomorrow, I'll leave it till tomorrow. _The following day was friday. Blake decided that she would wait until the end of classes, when the weekend started, to deal with this. Even so, as she slipped into bed, Blake couldn't help but feel uneasy.

Blake's day was _not_ going well. It started off normally, Ruby waking her team up in the morning at about 7:00. Normally, that wouldn't be an issue for Blake, she used to rise much earlier when she was associated with the white fang, but that particular day she had only gone to bed a few hours earlier. She had stayed up late doing Port's stupid project on profiling each of the major species of Grimm. Some of the exemplary examples had been pinned up on the wall behind him from previous years. Blake observed that this meant that Port handed out the same project every year, and this somehow didn't surprise her. Anyways, this meant that she woke up with only a few hours' sleep, which she did not appreciate. Not to mention that Ruby had already had all the milk that morning, and when Blake checked their mini fridge for some tuna or salmon, she found it empty. No milk, no fish. She went to the cafeteria and had to content herself with a breakfast of toasted bread with butter and some oatmeal. Then, she had to listen to one of Oobleck's non-stop talks for an hour. She normally enjoyed Oobleck's class, the energetic teacher keeping her interested; however, by the time she got there, the only seat left was just in front of Cardin. She had to put up with Cardin mocking the faunus whenever Oobleck brought them up. After the incident in Foreverfall, he had calmed down for a bit, but he now seemed angrier than ever. She only managed to keep her cool thanks to Yang next to her who put a comforting hand on Blake's arm. Then lunch came, and apparently someone really didn't want Blake to appease her feline desires, as it might have been the only day where there was no fish served at lunch. Then she handed in her project to Port, who proceeded to lecture the entire class about his obviously exaggerated exploits for the next way too long. On their way out of the class, Blake saw Cardin throw Velvet into a wall by her ears. Blake's hand twitched to her back, about to draw her blade, but she was stopped again by Yang.

"Just let it slide, he's not worth it. You'll get in too much trouble." So as she sat down in the battle arena for Goodwitch's class, Blake determined that she was _not _having a good day.

And then there was the letter...

They had finally found her.

She felt like breaking something. The only thing she was hoping for today was to be paired with someone who was poorly skilled so she could beat the living tar out of them. Or Cardin, she could definitely go for cutting that insufferable bully over and over. She listened eagerly as the first pair was announced. Ruby and Cardin. Damn.

The massive leader of CRDL towered over Ruby, but the shorter scythe wielder looked unfazed. Cardin charged forward and swung his hefty mace, but found that Ruby wasn't there anymore. Ruby had used her incredible speed to launch herself behind Cardin, and proceeded to hit him with her scythe, hard. The match proceeded in a similar fashion, Ruby only being hit once. That dropped her aura significantly, but Blake's team leader didn't make that mistake twice. It didn't take long for the lights to flash on again as Cardin lay on the ground, grunting in pain.

"A classic example of speed against strength, students." Goodwitch began. "Remember, where many of you strive for strength, you forget speed and agility. Take this match as a lesson, then. Understand your strengths and weaknesses, and train not to improve your strengths, but to guard against your weaknesses." At this she glared pointedly at Cardin, who had only gotten strong during his time at beacon, hardly working on speed. "Remember students, the tournament is in only a few weeks. Focus hard for the next few weeks, and you may make it further than anticipated."

Blake was itching to do something. She scribbled a quick message on a piece of paper "After our matches, lets skip out and blow off some steam.", then flicked it at her partner, Yang. Yang opened it and looked back at Blake. Yang nodded and winked at her partner, indicating her acceptance. Blake normally would never skip out on class, but she just couldn't bear to sit still anymore. She looked up as the next pair was announced. Blake and Pyrrha.

Just great.

Blake sighed as she made her strutted up to the arena platform. She leapt gracefully onto the elevated platform as Pyrrha mirrored her action on the opposite side of the stage. Blake evaluated the situation as she took her stance opposite the red head. She knew Pyrrha excelled in close combat, which made Blake lean towards using Gambol Shroud in its whip form. However, she also knew that if Pyrrha got off a shot with Milos in javelin form, she was toast. That gave her an idea.

"Commence," came the clear, sharp tone of Goodwitch, indicating the match beginning. The two girls stood opposite one another, Pyrrha with her shield raised, waiting for Blake to make a move. Blake obliged, whipping Gambol Shroud forward at Pyrrha, intentionally leaving her body fully exposed. Pyrrha took the opportunity, easily knocking away the whip with her shield and launching Milos towards Blake. Blake, for her part had dodged to the side, leaving a shadow image of herself behind. She glanced at it as only a fraction of a second after initiating the attack, Milos hit the shadow image directly between the eyes. _Mental note, do not let Pyrrha get that javelin back. _

Blake twisted around, whipping Gambol Shroud around towards Pyrrha's legs, but to no avail. Pyrrha easily jump rolled over the swinging weapon and charged Blake. Blake retracted Gambol shroud into its sword form and drew her scabbard. When the spartan warrior closed the distance between the two, Blake swung out with her sword. Pyrrha blocked and Blake swung with her scabbard, but Pyrrha merely sidestepped. With nothing but a shield, Pyrrha held Blake at bay, each one of Blake's swings meeting a shield or thin air. Even with the help of her shadow images, Blake couldn't lay a finger on the red headed celebrity.

She had to go on the defensive, slowly backing up, growing ever closer to the edge of the arena. When they were only a few paces from the end, Blake saw Pyrrha's eyes flicker to the side. _What was that?_ Too late, Blake realized what Pyrrha was after. As Blake's eyes flicked to Milos embedded in the wall, Pyrrha knocked the faunus to the side with her shield and lunged towards her weapon. As Blake stood again, at the ready, Pyrrha was back in her full battle stance, with that damn javelin back in her hand. Blake quickly looked down to check her aura level. Not much of it was gone, but Blake didn't know how much longer she could keep the spartan from hitting her. What was worse was that Pyrrha looked as though she hadn't broken a sweat, and she hadn't even used her polarity yet.

Blake steeled herself, knowing the match was futile. She abandoned all tact and rushed the spartan, who was fully ready to accept her charge. Blake fired Gambol shroud towards Pyrrha as she rushed, the whip shooting out to strike at the red head. Again, Pyrrha knocked the attack aside easily with her shield, which left a slight gap in front of her chest. Blake lunged, weaponless, and moved inside the spartan's guard. She succeeded, but was quickly met with a number of sharp hits from Milos as she fired off a series of punches and knees into Pyrrha. Blake felt her aura finally giving after she got a dozen or so punches in, and at that point Pyrrha got her shield between them and pushed Blake away. Without a reprieve of any kind, Pyrrha threw her shield at Blake, who had dodged to the side.

Straight into Milos. The red head had picked up on the shadow image patterns and had thrown both her shield and her javelin, one at the shadow, and one at Blake. Blake was hurled backwards by the impact. Knocked to the ground, Blake hissed in pain. She tried to stand, however, her side collapsed where it had been struck by Milos. The lights flicked on, flooding the arena with bright white. Pyrrha walked over and offered Blake a hand, but she was in no mood for sympathy right now. She swatted away the kindly offered hand and struggled to her knees. Finally Blake stood, and looked up at Pyrrha, who looked down worriedly at her.

"I'm sorry, Blake. Are you alri-"

"I'm disappointed Blake," Goodwitch's voice cut Pyrrha's concerned question off, "Never, ever, give up on a match. Do everything you can to find a way to win. Even though you got blows off on Pyrrha," _something no other student has done_ Blake commented silently, "You did so knowing that it was leaving you vulnerable and leading to inevitable defeat."

It was true, but Blake wasn't about to admit that. She nodded to Goodwitch, accepting her chastising. Blake stalked back to her seat and sat down next to Yang, but even her always optimistic partner was looking at her worriedly. Before Yang could open her mouth however, she was called up to the stage to fight Jaune. Blake was silently grateful for the interruption. She didn't feel like a talk with her partner. Yang would ask what was bothering her, and Blake didn't want to bring the letter up. She just wanted a distraction. That's what she needed right now. Yang's match finished quickly, and when she returned to her seat, Blake took her by the hand and led her out of class. Weiss and Ruby had planned to go to the library after class, so Blake figured she could kill a fair amount of time being, err, _distracted_, by Yang.

Pyrrha watched worriedly as Blake returned to her chair. Though they weren't the closest, the faunus and her had become friends over the course of the year, and the way she had just fought had been very telling. Pyrrha had fought her before, well kind of, with breadsticks. But even then, the dark haired faunus had fought in a very calm and collected manner. The way she had just fought was violent, emotional, and it troubled Pyrrha to see her friend so obviously troubled.

Pyrrha was distracted as Jaune was called to the stage though, and Pyrrha quickly turned her attention to the arena. Jaune had been improving a lot, but Pyrrha knew he was not even close to a match for the gauntleted, bright haired Yang. She was excited to watch though, hoping to see Jaune apply some of the techniques she had been teaching him.

The first minute or so of the match went reasonably well, the blondes circling each other for a moment before Yang dived in. Jaune actually managed to block a few punches, which made Pyrrha feel a little warm inside, a spark of pride flaring inside her as she watched her ever-improving leader. Jaune, however, didn't last long until Yang broke his guard, and once she got the first punch in, it didn't take her long to beat Jaune's aura down to a sliver of a red line. The match ended quickly thereafter, but Pyrrha still smiled as Jaune returned to his seat between her and Ren. His shoulders were slumped, so she supportively put her hand on his shoulder. He stiffened at her touch, and his cheeks turned slightly rosy. Pyrrha laughed in her head, her leader was certainly cute, though a little, okay very, awkward. She removed her hand and Jaune turned to face her, smiling. She smiled back.

"That was much better Jaune!" Pyrhha whispered excitedly as to not disrupt the class, "Yang is one of the best fighters in the class, you did well to keep your guard as long as you did." She could tell he was not quite convinced, but he looked more contented as he turned to watch the rest of the day's matches. The class passed quickly for Pyrrha afterwards, she had noticed Blake sneak out with Yang after Jaune's match, and figured if anyone could cheer Blake up, it was Yang. Goodwitch even let everyone go five minutes early.

"Take an early weekend, class. And rest up. Remember, training is useless without proper rest. With the tournament coming up, those of you who choose to compete can ill afford to wear yourselves out." Everyone started to stand, excitedly jabbering with their friends. "Jaune Arc, please come see me in my office." Goodwitch called as everyone started to file out the doors. Jaune looked to Pyrrha nervously.

"I'll wait for you outside," the redhead said. "I'm sure everything's fine." Jaune skulked off, looking a little terrified. Pyrrha walked out of the classroom and waited by one of the pillars just outside of the arena. She was a little worried though. Despite Jaune's improvements, he was still at the bottom of the class in combat. His marks had risen since his additional readings started, but in combat, she was still doubtful he could beat more than a handful of students at Beacon.

"Looks like Jauney boy's in trouble." said a voice from the side. Pyrrha didn't like that voice very much. Well, she didn't mind the voice, it was the fact that it came out Cardin Winchester's mouth that she didn't like.

"What do you want, Cardin?" Pyrrrha replied coldly.

"Well, ever since that time in Forever Fall, Jaune and I have been cool." Cardin actually seemed genuine to Pyrrha about this. "He saved me. Now we have an issue though. I still don't like you." He growled. Pyrrha wasn't surprised.

"The feeling is perfectly mutual." she assured him.

"Weeell, normally I would ignore you and leave it at that. But I see the way you look at Jaune. And I can't think of any better way to get back at you for all the times you've tried to embarrass me-"

"You brought those all on yourself."

"But to stop you from seeing him." Cardin's face had twisted from a scowl to a sadistic grin.

"That won't happen, Cardin, so go away and leave me be. Or I could always just break your legs." Pyrrha stepped forward, dropping halfway into her stance.

"Oh, I don't think you'll be doing that. You see, I ran into some information that Jauney boy had some less that legitimate transcript, and I just can't imagine what Goodwitch would do if she found out. Or dust forbid that Ozpin found out..." Pyrrha looked at him, shocked. That must be how Cardin had gotten Jaune to do his bidding for so long until he had dropped it after Forever Fall. "So here's the deal. You're not going to talk to Jauney boy anymore. You won't train with him, eat with him, nothing. Because if you do, he won't be at Beacon for your next breakfast together." At that Cardin and his lackeys turned and started walking away. Cardin looked back over his shoulder. "Oh, and if I so much as suspect that you talked to him about this, he's done."

Pyrrha sat there for a moment, conflicted. For one thing, she wanted to break his legs, really badly. But she knew that if she did anything to anger Cardin, it could well lead to Jaune being expelled. She could face the consequences to herself, but she couldn't bring herself to do that to Jaune. She knew how much being a hunter meant to him, and Beacon was the only way that would happen. She couldn't even risk doing that to him. Pyrrha stood shellshocked, as Cardin walked away.

"Mr. Arc, though you have an incredible transcript, you fail to perform well in any of your classes." Goodwitch looked at Jaune sternly. He felt like a pit was opening up inside his stomach. "I've talked with your other professors, and they all concur that you have potential," At this, Jaune's hope rose a little, "But you fail time and again to execute. Can you explain yourself, Mr. Arc?" The fully fledged huntress glared at him.

"I-I... N-no, ma'am." Goodwitch stared at him and gave a little harumph. Jaune lowered his gaze. He could hardly tell the truth about his transcript.

"Then you leave me no choice but to put you on probation."

"Probation?"

"Yes, Mr. Arc. Beacon can't bother dealing with hunters in training who show no promise. You would only be putting yourself and your team mates in danger. As such, you have until the end of the year to prove yourself. You will make it into the fourth round of the tournament, or you will not be returning to Beacon at the end of the summer. Is that clearly understood, Mr. Arc?" Jaune figured that it wasn't an actual question.

"Yes ma'am."

"Dismissed."

Jaune got to his feet a little shakily. He walked through the battle arena towards the exit. He reached it, pushed open the door, and saw Pyrrha standing there, waiting. He was relieved. He knew if he was going to have any chance, he would need to work extra hard, and he knew he could count on the redhead to help him. With her, he thought he might have a shot. He could come back to Beacon next year.

He took a double take when she looked at him with a tear streak down her cheek.

"Pyrrha? What's wrong?" Jaune immediately asked. He had never seen the spartan cry, but the sight broke his heart a little. "Pyrrha?" He asked again when she didn't answer.

"I'm sorry Jaune," she said. "But I-I have to go. I won't be able to train tonight with you either." Jaune stopped in his tracks, he wanted to comfort her, but when he went to put his hand on her shoulder, she planted her hand on his chest. "Please Jaune, just go back to the dorm." She looked away as she said this, but there was no waver in her voice.

"Pyrrha, what's wrong? I don't underst-"

"Just go!" she said forcefully, then started to strut away. Jaune stared as his partner walked away from him. What had felt like a pit before now felt like a full blown hit from Nora's hammer. He walked back to the dorm, a sense of inevitable doom falling over him. Had he done something to her? When she came back to the dorm, Jaune tried to talk to her, but she cut him off.

"Jaune don't. I just want space for a while. Please, leave me be." Her eyes looked a little puffy, and Jaune thought maybe she had been crying. He wanted to do something for her so badly, but she wouldn't even let him get a word in edgewise. He went to bed that night feeling terrible. Not only was his time at Beacon being cut to only a few weeks, the person he had come to care most about didn't seem to want anything to do with him anymore. That cut him deeper than any blade ever could.

**So there it is, the first chapter. Any comments, suggestions or feedback would be greatly appreciated. Future chapters will be shorter, I just wanted to get the main arcs going before moving on to other chapters. I hope you all enjoyed the first chapter of my story. If all goes well there should be regular updates for the rest of summer, slowing down a bit as school starts up again. Thanks for taking the time to read :)**


	2. Chapter 2

Blake led Yang back to their dorm by her hand. About halfway back from Goodwitch's class, Yang pulled up short.

"Blake, what's going on?" The bubbly blonde asked, her voice full of worry.

"I'm taking you back to our room," Blake began seductively, leaning into Yang, "Where no one else will be for the next three hours. Just you and me," Blake slowly drew her mouth closer to Yang's, "And we're going to have fun." Blake nipped playfully at the blonde's neck. Yang didn't ask any more questions. While Blake was opening the door, she caught a worried glance from her partner.

"Oh come on, Yang, you're always telling me to let loose." Blake pulled the blonde into their room, shut the door and locked it. She playfully shoved Yang down onto the bed, then got onto her hands and knees, swaying back and forth. Blake started purring as she crept up towards Yang, who grabbed the lapels of Blake's jacket and drew the dark haired faunus into her. Maybe she could still salvage what had turned into the worst day ever.

The two fooled around for the next while. Blake was grateful for the distraction, and aggressively threw herself into kissing Yang. Loosing her senses a little in the passion, Blake forgot about her horrible day for a while. Alas, it wasn't to last. After only about an fifteen minutes, the door banged open.

"OH MY-! GROSS!" Blake heard Ruby call. "Blake! That's my sister!" Yang yelped and sprung away from her partner. Blake sat up more slowly, much more relaxed than she had been earlier.

"C'mon sis, you knew Blake and I were... seeing each other." Yang said in an attempt to save face. The bite marks on her neck definitely didn't help the situation. Ruby had flinched, and seemed to be holding the position, one leg up and arms in front of her face. She had her eyes squeezed tightly shut. Weiss was behind her respective partner, mouth agape.

"I. Don't. Ever. Want. To. See. That. Again." was all the ice queen said before composing herself and going to sit on her bed.

"What're you two even doing here?" Blake said with an edge to her voice. The cat faunus was extraordinarily annoyed that her time with Yang had been cut short. Already, her mind was starting to return to the troubles of her day, something she had been trying very hard to put off.

"We just wanted to know what was up. As your teammates, we felt obligated to help any way we could." Ruby clarified. The younger girl went and plopped herself beside Weiss. The partners looked at Blake, concerned.

"Now that they bring it up, Blake, somethings bothering you. You know you can tell us. I was going to ask before you... uh" Yang glanced at Ruby, "Distracted me." Blake jumped at the opportunity.

"Maybe I should distract you some more." Blake was growing more and more agitated as she started thinking more and more about the nuisances of the day. She figured messing with Weiss and Ruby was better than letting those thoughts go unchecked. Yang was definitely rubbing off on her.

"RIGHT HERE." Weiss cut in quickly.

"Gross," Ruby added.

"Girls, I think maybe Blake needs some space." Yang interjected before the girls could start pressing. Blake looked at her partner thankfully. "But Blake, you can come to any of us if you want. You know that, right?"

"You're right, I just need a little bit of time." Blake answered. She knew what she had to do. She had to read that damned letter. Yang nodded her head towards the door, and the three members of team RWBY left Blake by herself in the dorm. She walked over to her desk and opened the drawer where she had stowed the letter previously that morning. She looked at the symbol, that of the White Fang, in the top corner.

Blake took a deep breath and ripped the edge of the envelope. She pulled the smooth, white paper from the inside and unfolded it. As she read, her heart sank.

_Blake:_

_Sunday, midnight. Don't tell anyone. We wouldn't want your teachers to learn your secret, would we? We can discuss current events then._

_-an old friend_

Blake stared at the message. It was short, but blunt. She suspected at who could have written it, but decided not to jump to any conclusions. Her breath was coming in short, quick gasps. She held the paper and envelope over the open flame of a nearby candle until they caught and started to go up in flames. She had two days. Two days to figure out what to do about the situation. Whoever it was was obviously an old acquaintance from the White Fang, and it sounded like she didn't have a choice but to obey or lose her place at Beacon. Her shot at a new life as a huntress. Worst of all, she couldn't risk involving Yang and the others. The White Fang might be lenient with her, given that she was a faunus. She doubted the same courtesy would be extended to her human friends.

She considered messaging Sun, who was adamant about always getting friends involved, but she knew that if her team ever found out, they wouldn't forgive her for going to him a second time instead of them. No, this was something she had to deal with on her own. The worst part was possibly being given nothing to go on other than the time and place. If her experience with the rebellious group was to be trusted, there would be no way of finding who had left the note other than to go herself. As the ashes of the note smoldered, so did Blake's temper. Whoever it was who had sent that message was going to regret it. She wouldn't be pushed away from Beacon.

Sighing, she made her way out of the dorm towards the library. She figured she should apologize to her team for the way she acted. She got up to the library and found the three doing anything but studying. Yang was flicking scraps of paper at her little sister who was asleep on a heavy tome. Weiss for her part was just sitting there, glaring at Ruby for having fallen asleep presumably while the two had been working on a project. Weiss had a few notes in front of her which looked like the start of a report. Weiss was the first one to notice the feline female walk into the library and shook Ruby awake. Yang turned to see her partner walk up to the group and smiled widely.

"Hey Blake," the trio chimed as she strutted up to the table.

"Hey, look, I'm sorry for how I've acted today. I've got some stuff going on, but I need to handle it myself. I'm just asking you to trust me here." Weiss looked offended, but it was Ruby who spoke.

"Blake, we're a team now. Your problems are our problems." The team leader spoke softly, but it was clear that she didn't like Blake's proclamation.

"Ruby, I know you mean well. I promise though, that this won't be an issue for long. I can handle it, but it's something I have to do myself."

Uncomfortably, the others accepted. The rest of the night was spent semi-studying as Weiss tried to get Ruby to help with the project, but the latter was taking every opportunity to get distracted. Normally Blake would smirk a little at this, but her thoughts were elsewhere. On top of the letter, she noticed Yang was forcing a considerable amount of space between them. As the team walked back to the dorms, Yang pulled Blake aside for a moment.

"Look, I get it if you're having a tough time, but don't do what you did earlier today ever again." The normally cheery blonde's tone was dead serious.

"What do you mean?"

"You used me. You were upset, and you used me to get your mind off it. I can help you if you have any issues, and I like you a lot Blake, but don't ever try that again."

So it was that Blake went to bed feeling no better than she had when she woke up. She stayed up late that night thinking about her situation. She couldn't deny the tension in her group anymore. She resolved to end the situation sunday, and that would be that. Blake couldn't put up with this forever.

Pyrrha woke early the next morning. She didn't know if she could handle getting up at the same time as the rest of her team, or more particularly, as Jaune. She sighed as she got up to take a shower in the washroom. She dressed quickly and made her way out of the dorm before anyone woke up. She slumped against the door as she closed it behind her. Pyrrha had never faced a situation like this before. She was normally the one helping others, she had never really faced a personal issue that was her own before. The emotions roiling inside her were unfamiliar and foreign. She needed to clear her head.

Pyrrha made her way down to the practice room where she stacked three straw dummies in front of one another. She proceeded to draw Milos in its javelin form. She jogged until she was a hundred paces away, then threw the javelin with all her strength. The javelin sailed levelly through the air, and punctured all three targets, exiting with hardly slowing down. The javelin clattered to the ground after bouncing off the wall behind the targets. Frustrated, Pyrrha retrieved Milos, switching it to its bladed form. She proceeded to hack the straw dummies into fine dust for the next half hour.

Her physical effort, however, was doing nothing to alleviate her irritable mood, and she grew more and more frustrated. Reaching a point where she couldn't take it anymore, she screamed as she viscously hacked the head off the final dummy. She whirled around, feeling even tenser than when she came into the room, and was struck by the sight of Jaune standing behind her, watching. He stood between her and the door. It took her a moment before she shook her head and composed herself. She strutted towards the door, looking levelly at the exit. As she passed near him, he cleared his throat.

"Pyrrha, please.." His voice was so full of hurt that it stopped her in her tracks, and it took Pyrrha a moment before she trusted herself to speak calmly. Even as she addressed him, her eyes never left the door.

"Jaune, take a hint. I don't want to be near you. I don't even want to talk to you." Pyrrha hated herself for saying those words. She knew it was what she had to do, Jaune cared too much about his friends to give up on her if she were any less direct. She risked a quick glance at his face, and he looked stricken. She had never seen him look more crushed, not even that first night on the roof when Jaune was having his issues with Cardin.

Pyrrha quickly whipped her head back to the door and walked unhurriedly to the door, opening it. Once she had rounded the corner outside, however, she broke into a sprint. She didn't want to be anywhere near Jaune or where she had hurt him so badly. She would have felt awful saying something of that sort to anyone, but that it was one of her closest friends tore her to shreds. She wanted to scream, or hit something, or find Cardin and find a way out, but nothing would help. Wiping the tears she hadn't noticed coming from her eyes away, the spartan steeled herself.

It was around breakfast hour, so Pyrrha headed towards the cafeteria. She knew her team would be there already, as Nora was always adamant that they arrive precisely on time in case there were pancakes. Pyrrha planned to go in, grab a small breakfast and eat in the corner of the cafeteria, then leave. All preferably without her team noticing her. The second she walked through the doors her hopes were dashed. Her team was sitting halfway down the table in the middle of the hall across from team RWBY, and saw her immediately. Jaune stood up, but Ren grabbed his arm and held him back. Jaune sat back down, but wouldn't stop looking at the redhead. Pyrrha lowered her gaze and headed towards a table on the very edge of the cafeteria. She put a measly bit of bread and butter on her plate and picked at the crumbs for a few minutes. Her stomach was churning and Pyrrha felt sick, which was odd, because she knew she wasn't ill. She looked absently around the cafeteria and noticed Cardin studying her from a table over. The leader of team CRDL grinned sadistically at her.

Pyrrha's blood boiled at the sight of him. She wanted nothing more than to go over and smack that damn smile from his face. She couldn't risk it of course, but Pyrrha was itching to do something, anything, to be able to talk to her friend again. She wanted to undo the hurt she had caused him. She stood up abruptly, no longer being able to stay in the cafeteria. She didn't know where to go, and eventually found herself outside her dorm room. She didn't want to go in, Jaune might find her there, but she had nowhere to go.

So Pyrrha found herself curled up at the head of her bed before noon, hugging her knees to her chest. Pyrrha didn't have the energy to go do anything. So she stayed there, curled up, just thinking. She was wracking her brain for any possible way out. Everything, however, ended with Jaune being expelled. Pyrrha just couldn't allow herself to cause him that kind of pain.

After a period of time, Pyrrha had no idea how long, there was a soft knock on the door.

"Who is it?" she called softly.

"It's Ren," Relieved that it wasn't Jaune, Pyrrha went and opened the door. Standing before her was the stoic, green garbed warrior. "Can we talk?" Pyrrha looked into the eyes of her friend, who looked worried for her. She stepped aside and allowed Ren to enter, then shut the door again after him.

"What is it?" She asked him, genuinely curious. She had an idea what he was here to talk about though.

"What's happening between you and Jaune? He's worried sick that he's done something to hurt you, and he'll do anything to help." It was like someone had kicked Pyrrha in the stomach. Actually, she was used to that. This was worse.

"It's not anything he's done." She answered sternly.

"So what's happening?"

"Nothing," Ren sighed and looked at her, a hard glint in his eyes.

"It's not nothing. Two days ago you were good friends. You stayed up all night helping him with a project. Most _friends_ wouldn't even do that. And then last night you walk away from him saying you can't train with him anymore? Not to mention this morning. I don't know what happened, but Jaune looked devastated when he came up for breakfast. So don't say it's nothing." Ren's calm tone reprimanded her, and Pyrrha was at a loss for words. Another feeling she was unfamiliar with.

"It's nothing that he, or you, or anyone, can do anything for." She finally managed to say, fighting to keep her voice from cracking. Physically, Pyrrha knew she could take almost limitless abuse and keep going, but this emotional damage was new to her. It probably didn't help that all of it was self inflicted. Ren just looked at her sympathetically.

"Alright, but if you feel like talking, or just need anything, you have a team. We'll always have your back, Pyrrha." He smiled reassuringly, Pyrrha returned the smile. It made her a little warm inside to know that her team would be there with her. She then immediately felt guilty. She had made a similar unspoken vow to Jaune, and she had shattered it. She didn't know if their relationship would ever recover. Just when she had started to feel more comfortable with him than anyone else before, it had all been ripped away.

"Thanks Ren, but I don't know I deserve that honor any longer." Ren frowned, not understanding, but moved past it.

"I'm going to go get some lunch, please, when you want, come join us." He said, then left the room.

A while passed after he left where Pyrrha mulled over what he had said. His words comforted her, but at the same time made her feel all the guiltier for what she was doing to Jaune. Finally she worked up the courage to steel herself and walk out of the dorm towards the cafeteria. She walked into the large room and immediately spotted the rest of team JNPR as well as Ruby in their usual spaces. Pyrrha wanted to go up and sit with them, laugh and joke as they normally would, but Pyrrha knew she couldn't. She calmly walked down a table one over from theirs, and sat so she could look at Jaune inconspicuously. She just wanted to somehow show him that everything would be fine. As she sat down, there was a red blur and then there was Ruby sitting across from her.

"Whatcha doin'?" The younger huntress in training asked.

"Hoping to eat some lunch, thank you for asking." Pyrrha replied in a very polite and upbeat tone, but it lacked her normal happy edge. "How are things with you?"

"Hm, Blake is on the fritz again. I don't know what wrong. She said she'd deal with it, but she seemed really shaken. And then there's Jaune. He's acting pretty upset about something. Then I saw you over here, away from your team. You did the same thing this morning. So I'm wondering what's up? Because you're a team, and team's stick together." Ruby's energetic speech was met with silence. The two redheads looked at each other for a moment.

"Well I'm not so sure you deserve to be on a team anymore, Ruby."

"Hmmmmm, nope."

"Nope?"

"Nope! You don't get to say that. Pyrrha, you're the most qualified student at this school. And you're kind, and always helping others over yourself. Any team would be lucky to have you!"

"While I appreciate your words, I just can't believe them anymore. I'm the reason Jaune's upset. I'm so sorry, but I just can't do anything to help him." Pyrrha was struggling to maintain her cool, aloof demeanor that she normally held so easily. The maelstrom of emotions whirling around the spartan's mind was clouding her ability to mask herself.

"Hm, I guess I'll let you do what you want. But Pyrrha, there's never only one option. Just think about some other way to deal with this. Take a fresh perspective on it."

Pyrrha was silent for a minute as she processed the younger girl's words. An idea started to spark in her mind, but there were some things she would have to take care of.

"Thank you, Ruby. That helped. Now what's the issue with Blake?" Pyrrha let her nurturing nature take over as she inquired as to the state of team RWBY's current state of affairs. Those girls were always up to something.

"Well, she stayed up late finishing Port's project thursday," That sounded familiar to Pyrrha, and she smiled a bit at her and Jaune's last real time spent together. "And when she woke up the next morning she was in a crabby mood. I had drunk the last of the milk, there wasn't much left, I swear, and she really chewed me out. We all figured she was just tired." She paused for breath, sucking in a large lungful to continue her speech. "Then there was no tuna left and she did that thing where she flattens her ears, and we knew she was really mad then, so we let her go to breakfast. In all our classes she was upset. She saw Cardin throw the bunny girl into a wall by her ears and almost drew her sword and attacked him!" A quick breath, "Yang stopped her, but she didn't say a word at lunch. Then when she went after you in the arena, it was like she didn't care if she won or not, she just want to hit you. And I don't think it was personal, I think she just wanted to hit someone. Then her and Yang skipped out of class, and I though 'Great! If anyone can calm her down it'll be her girlfriend, right?' But then Weiss and I walked into the dorm and they were just kissing and it was really gross." Ruby scrunched up her face at that, shuddering at an apparently abhorrent memory. "Anyways we tried talking to her, but she asked for space so we went to the library. She came up a bit later and apologized but she still wouldn't tell us what the issue is. She said it'd clear up in a few days but I'm worried. Not about Blake, I'm sure she can deal with it, but Yang's starting to get upset. And Yang doesn't get upset. Unless you touch her hair. But I'm worried about my team. And me worrying has got Weiss mad because I can't focus anymore."

Finishing her tirade, Ruby slumped forward in her chair. She looked at the older redhead helplessly. Pyrrha couldn't help feel bad for the young girl. The stress of being bumped up two years along with having to take on being leader of a team must have been tough for the girl.

"It seems to me like there's nothing you can do for now. Blake needs to work through whatever is happening to her. All you can do is try to make everyone understand that. Keep your team calm. Keep them trusting each other and don't ever let your relationship with your team mates slacken. You won't know if there will ever be any going back. That's what being a leader is all about."

"Wow... Thanks Pyrrha. I think I should probably go talk to Weiss and Yang then. And Pyrrha, if you need to talk to someone about what's happening, you have a lot of friends here. Come see me anytime." Ruby beamed at the spartan warrior, who ducked her eyes. It was becoming more and more apparent to her what needed to be done.

"One thing Ruby, just tell Jaune I'm sorry." The younger huntress to be nodded enthusiastically, then zipped off. Pyrrha genuinely hoped that her situation worked out. It sounded like team RWBY was taking another hit, and dust knew they had been through enough.

Pyrrha took one last, long look at her leader. She looked at the awkward blonde she had first met when he was clumsily hitting on Weiss. It hurt knowing how close they had become, and how quickly that had been ripped away from Pyrrha. She sighed and stood, walking away from all the students of Beacon. She noticed for the first time how resounding the gong of the heavy doors was as it shut behind her. She didn't look back as she strode away.

She strode through the campus, slowly making her way towards the top of the great tower that was Beacon. As she reached the top of the climb, she found herself in front of two large green wooden doors. She reached out tentatively and knocked.

"Come in," came the calm, smooth sound of Ozpin's voice. She obliged.

"Ah, Miss Nikos, what can I do for you today?" Pyrrha's heart was beating hard, but she took a deep breath, calming herself.

"Sir, though I've learned a great many things under your school's tutelage, I believe my time here is up." Ozpin raised and eyebrow at her.

"What do you mean?"

"Sir, I'm formally requesting permission and assistance to transfer to Mistral."

**Once again thanks for taking the time to read the second chapter in this story. I'm hoping that chapters that are added from here on will be a similar length to this one, and should be posted every few days. Being pretty new to writing, any comments, criticism, feedback or suggestions is always appreciated. I hope everyone's enjoying the story as much as I'm enjoying writing it!**


	3. Chapter 3

Jaune decided his life sucked right now. He didn't know what cruel fate was in charge of running the world and planning his life, but if he ever met it, he would shove a sword down it's throat. He sat at the breakfast table, picking away at his food, his mind elsewhere. After rising early that morning, he had found Pyrrha already missing from her bed. After their encounter the previous day, he was anxious, but resigned that he was going to get to the bottom of what was going on. Something was troubling Pyrrha, and even though she seemed to want none of it, Jaune wanted to help in any way he could. After everything she had done for him, it was the least he could do.

But when he found her in the training room, she had devastated him. _Jaune, take a hint... _She had hurt him last night, but those words felt like full on sucker punches. It felt like his last lifeline to the world had been snipped and he was free falling.

So he sat at the breakfast table, contemplating his situation. First off, he had been told by Goodwitch that he was essentially failing every class. If that wasn't bad enough, she was forcing him to enter a tournament Jaune had no intention of entering due to fear of being beat to a pulp by every competent hunter in training in all the different corners of the world. On top of that, he had to win at least three of those matches or would be kicked out of the school that represented his everything; his only potential tie to a life of saving others. Finally, Pyrrha, the one friend that Jaune needed more than ever anyone else right now, the one who made it all seem possible, the one that held all of Jaune's hopes in her palm, had cut him out. Not only had she stopped talking to him, she was actively avoiding him. And the things she had said...

Jaune didn't see where his life could go from that point. He thought he could handle loosing Beacon. He had to face that before with Cardin, but he thought that at least he could stay in touch with his friends. Pyrrha especially. He had grown very close to the redhead since the start of the year. Despite his clumsiness, awkwardness and obvious lack of talent, she had believed in him. She had supported him. But now something had happened and Jaune could only assume it was his fault.

"I just don't know what I did." The blonde mumbled to himself as he absently struck his fork into random bits of food. Ren took note of his leader's plight.

"I'm sure you didn't do anything Jaune, she's probably just working through something. We've all had those moments."

"No way, the way she talked to me, no. It's not just something."

"What happened?"

So Jaune spent the next portion of breakfast describing the events of yesterday. When he finished, his team was silent, even Nora, who was always saying something or humming or doing some weird antic, was still. Team RWBY, across from them, continued to chatter idly.

"I just wish she'd let me help, or at least tell me what's going on. The only reason I can think of why she wouldn't is that it was me..." Jaune trailed off, feeling a little bit like smacking his face into the table. "What did I do?" He groaned. Ren and Nora didn't say anything.

A short time later, the large doors that served as an entrance to the cafeteria opened and Pyrrha walked through them. Jaune registered how sad she looked, and he wanted so much to go and hug her. Maybe that simple physical contact, no words or anything, would be enough that he could reestablish some level of connection with her. He realized that he was standing now, but before he could move towards Pyrrha, Ren grabbed his arm and pulled him back down, but Jaune's eyes lingered on his partner. As she walked to the corner of the cafeteria, each step away from him feeling like somebody was twisting a knife somewhere deep inside his chest.

Jaune remarked somewhere in the back of his brain how she hadn't taken the time to put her hair in the clasp that kept it in a neat ponytail as normal. He tried to return his attention to the food in front of him, but found himself looking up every thirty seconds or so at who he had thought was his closest friend. She didn't stay in the same place for long. After she ate a small breakfast, she scanned the cafeteria. She seemed to focus on something, then stood and strode quickly out of the cafeteria. Jaune watched her go, eyes fixing on the doors after she had left.

Not long thereafter, Jaune stood up. His stomach felt like a massive pit and he could hardly even think about eating with everything going on. He wanted to go do something to clear his mind, but normally when he was feeling down he would train with Pyrrha, or simply hang out with his partner. Being around his partner always made him feel good, no matter how bad things seemed. He was starting to notice how much of his time he had spent with the spartan warrior. _Well, what would she do in my shoes? _He didn't really know. Pyrrha never seemed to have many troubles. She was smart, easy going, kind, and more beautiful and talented than anyone else at Beacon. Jaune supposed it would make sense if she didn't want to hang out with him, but not after she had been so kind to him before. He didn't know what could possibly be happening to her. He couldn't imagine anything that was bad enough to trouble Pyrrha.

_Well, I suppose that if I can't do anything about Pyrrha, I might as well try to focus on the tournament..._ Jaune thought to himself. So Jaune went to the training rooms for the second time that day. Part of him was hoping Pyrrha might be there, but for the most part he didn't want to see his redheaded team mate again for a while. He didn't know how much more he could take.

As he walked through the doors, he saw the space where Pyrrha had rejected him outright. Shaking his head, he grabbed a straw dummy and set it up near the side of the room. He drew his sword and unfurled his shield. He took up his stance and started hacking away at the target, but his heart wasn't in it. He tried to practice the movements his partner had shown him, but no matter how long he stabbed, thrusted and jabbed, his mood didn't lighten in the slightest.

Finally growing frustrated with trying to tire himself out enough to stop thinking, Jaune sheather his sword and shield. He walked out of the practice rooms and headed back to the dorm, planning to shower then go study in the library. As he rounded the corner to his room, he saw Ren shutting the door behind him. Ren saw his leader coming down the hall and shook his head at Jaune, causing the latter to pull up short. Ren walked over to him, a bit more rapidly than the collected warrior normally would.

"She's in there, and I don't think you should go in." He said to Jaune.

"Oh,"

"Come on Jaune, let's go get some food. You know Nora would bite our heads off if we made her miss a meal." Ren smiled reassuringly at his leader. They walked side by side, not speaking a word. Jaune was caught up in his own thoughts. Ren sighed beside his leader, but Jaune hardly took notice. His team mate seemed frustrated after having talked to Pyrrha, and this rose another issue for Jaune. If he couldn't fix whatever was going on with Pyrrha, he didn't know if his team's bonds would survive. Ren and Nora would always be friends, but they couldn't be expected to work together with either of the others without one person being left in the dust. The former team of four was splintering, and Jaune was worried for Ren and Nora. He was failing as a leader.

The two entered the cafeteria and went to sit beside Nora, who was already chowing down across from Ruby Rose.

"Heya Jaune! Hey Ren!" the younger redhead called as they sat on either side of Nora.

"Hey Ruby," Jaune mumbled back.

"Whoa, someone not get enough sleep last night?"

"I wish that was it." Ruby eyed Jaune closely.

"Hmmm, anything you want to talk about?"

"Not really," Jaune looked at his team mates beside him. He didn't want to let them know how bad things were for him. He also didn't want to burden Ruby with everything that was happening. Instead of talking, he halfheartedly took a bite of the lasagna in front of him. Ruby was just about to open her mouth to speak again when Jaune looked to the side, seeing Pyrrha enter the room. This time she didn't acknowledge his existence with so much as a nod or a look. She just walked over to the same corner as that morning and sat down. Jaune looked down at his food dejectedly, no longer feeling hungry.

Before Jaune could decide whether to force himself to eat or not, he felt a gust of wind and looked up. Before he could really register what had happened, he noticed Ruby sitting across from Pyrrha. Ruby was talking animatedly, and Pyrrha seemed to give curt replies, obviously not fully invested in the conversation. Jaune turned back to his team. Nora was in the process of eating a sandwich that seemed to be made almost entirely of sugar. Jaune had to pause in puzzlement at that sight, Ren suppressing a smile beside him.

Jaune decided it would be a good idea to try to eat a little more even though he really didn't feel like it. He managed to chew his way through a couple mouthfuls of food before he just couldn't stomach anymore. Instead of looking up at Pyrrha despite how much he wanted to, Jaune opted to poke at the food in front of him. After a little while, he felt another rush of air and looked up to see Ruby across from him.

"Hi again," Ruby said enthusiastically, though the scythe wielder looked like she was also harboring some heavy thoughts.

"Hey Ruby, what was that all about?" Ren asked. Jaune probably would have said something too, but he just didn't feel like it.

"Not a whole lot, just some girl talk I guess. She seems pretty upset, but she said it wasn't anything any of you could help with. She did say to tell you something though." It took Jaune a moment before he realized she was talking to him.

"Oh.. yeah? What was it?" He was dreading it being another warning for him to leave her be. He hadn't said anything since that morning though, so he didn't know why.

"She just said to say that she was sorry. She looked really sad though when she said it. The only other time I've seen her this emotional was when Jaune was being buddy buddy with Cardin." Jaune's mind started whirring at Ruby's message. The words caught on his mind, and even though he tried to quench the flare of hope that had seeded itself in his mind, he couldn't push the thought out of his head.

Pyrrha had said she was sorry.

Why was she sorry?

She thought it had been a good plan. She would gain Ozpin's assistance in transferring back to her native region, deal with Cardin, gather her things and be on her way off. She thought she might even be able to see Jaune briefly before leaving, though she was unsure of saying goodbye to all her friends. It had been easy leaving Mistral, everything felt natural, but here it felt forced. She would leave and no longer be able to hurt Jaune. In a heart breaking way, the decision made her feel at ease.

"Sir, I'm formally requesting permission and assistance to transfer to Mistral."

At Pyrrha's words, Ozpin paused, his eyes looking at her intently over his cup of coffee. Slowly he lowered his ever present mug.

"I'm surprised to hear it, Miss Nikos. What sparked this sudden change of heart?" Pyrrha couldn't decide how to respond. She didn't want to say it was Jaune, as the headmaster may inquire further. She also fell compelled to give Ozpin an honest answer.

"It's... A personal issue." she replied softly.

"Mm," the grey haired man studied her intently. "I wouldn't have expected you to abandon your friends in such a manner, especially Jaune right now. However, it is your choice in the end." The reputable headmaster sounded a little disappointed with her.

"What do you mean by right now, sir?" She was confused. She was fixing everything, and she didn't think Jaune was in any plight but that which she had caused.

"He hasn't told you yet?" Ozpin frowned, "Odd, I thought Jaune would confide in his friends, you especially. If anyone could help him..." Ozpin trailed off, seemingly deep in thought.

"Sir?" Pyrrha was growing more confused by the second. Her voice seemed to snap Ozpin out of his revery.

"Miss Nikos, your friend, Jaune Arc, has been put on probation. Miss Goodwitch does not believe that he has the capability to be a huntsman. She has tasked him with entering the tournament at the end of the year, and if he does not proceeded to at least the fourth round, he will not be returning to Beacon in the fall."

Pyrrha's mouth dropped a little. She stood, shocked. It felt like someone had slapped her in the face, and Pyrrha was taken aback. She understood what Ozpin meant by abandoning her friends now, if she left, there was no way Jaune would do that well in the tournament. He would be expelled and Pyrrha would be gone, leaving Ren and Nora a team of two where formerly they were a unit of four. Pyrrha's heart sank, her mind racing to process the new information. One thing was apparent to her though. She couldn't leave Beacon now, and she needed to find a way to help Jaune.

"It seems you have some things to consider, Miss Nikos. Come visit me again on Monday, before classes start. If you still feel you should leave, I will do everything in my power to speed along the process." Ozpin paused for a moment, sipping from his cup. "But I encourage you to consider the situation and the ramifications of your actions."

"Thank you sir," Pyrrha replied, only half listening. She walked back across the clockwork office and opened the door, slipping out and allowing it to close behind her. She headed towards the library absently. She only realized where her feet were leading her as she noticed the stacks of books just ahead of her. She needed to think.

She proceeded to one of the tables at the back of the large library and sat down. She pulled a book from the shelf behind her at random. _A brief history of the Grimm_. Pyrrha had no interest in reading it, but opened it anyways. She didn't feel like she could handle thinking about what to do about Jaune at that time. She read through the lengthy account of the legends of how humans came about through dust, and their first encounters with the Grimm. Pyrrha's eyes grew heavier and she realized she couldn't have gotten more than a few hours of sleep. Her eyes drooped as she read the dry tales in the book. It wasn't long before Pyrrha's mind went black and she fell asleep on top of the large volume.

She found herself running though a dark forest, fully armored. Her heart was racing and she could feel adrenaline pumping through her veins. It clicked in her mind that she was in the middle of a battle, or at least fleeing from one. She scanned the trees around her, looking for the outline of her enemy. She heard the growl of a Grimm behind her, and whipped around with Milos at the ready. She found herself looking at Cardin, mace slung over his shoulder. The massive leader of CRDL looked utterly relaxed.

"What's wrong red? Something got you running?" Cardin grinned at her. Pyrrha was filled with uncontrollable rage, and tensed, ready to throw her javelin between his eyes.

"I wouldn't do that," came a voice from her side. She turned to register the new threat, but found that again she was looking at Cardin. She glanced back at where she had been about to throw, and Cardin was gone.

_What is going on?_

"Why are you so mad Pyrrha? What did I do?" He asked innocently.

"You're hurting Jaune. Why are you doing that? He saved your life!" The redhead yelled.

"Me? I'm not doing anything Pyrrha." Cardin started walking towards her. "That's you. How could you just cut Jauney boy off like that? You know how much you mean to him." He was almost toe to toe with Pyrrha now.

"No, I'm doing this for him." Pyrrha said desperately. "It's all for him, I don't want to." She was on the verge of crying now.

"Don't you? You can't blame me for this Pyrrha. Everything would be fine with Jaune if you just put some effort into figuring this out."

"I have been. I've been trying. I want this over." The tears were flowing freely now.

"Really? Hacking at dummies and reading books in the library? Crying on your bed? Admit it, you want to hurt him."

"No!" Pyrrha gasped. She was feeling more and more desperate. "No, I'd give anything for this to go away."

"No, you wouldn't." Carding whispered softly in her ear. Pyrrha was growing angry now. This was Cardin's fault. She hated him for it. But she also hated herself. Cardin started backing away, laughing menacingly. He was _enjoying_ this. Pyrrha's rage boiled over and she launched Milos with all her strength. She wasn't fully aware of what was happening, it was like her body was acting but she wasn't controlling it. Her aim had never failed her, and it held true as the javelin flew through the air, straight through her target's chest.

But when her mark fell to the ground, it was no longer Cardin, it was Jaune.

"No!" she shouted and sprinted towards the spot where he had landed. "Jaune!"

"Pyrrha?" The blonde haired boy looked up her, confused. "Why? Just tell me, please. Why Pyrrha? Pyrrha?" The boys words cut her like knives, but Pyrrha was too terrified to answer. She was desperately trying to stop the bleeding, but the hole in Jaune's chest was too large. More and more blood leaked through her fingers, staining her hands red. She looked into her awkward partner's eyes one last time. The hurt behind them brought fresh tears to Pyrrha's eyes.

"It's okay, Pyrrha." Jaune managed to rasp out softly. His eyes glazed over, and his head rolled back.

"No, Jaune. You can't go. Please stay. For me. Jaune?"

"Jaune!"

Pyrrha woke with a start. Relief washed through her as she realized that it had been a dream, but the images haunted her mind. She felt hollow as she looked down at her tablet. It was about eight o'clock, which meant she missed dinner. She didn't mind. She didn't have much of an appetite as it was.

Thinking back on the dream, Pyrrha's chest hurt. She decided to get some fresh air and headed towards the roof to that end. As she stepped out onto the roof, she took a breath of fresh air. She put her hands on her hips and tipped her head backwards, just enjoying the crisp night air. She did her best to empty her mind, trying to get rid of the last vestiges of her nightmare. She stood on the roof for a good while, uninterrupted. Her trance was finally broken when she heard the door behind her swing open.

"Oh..." Came a timid voice that Pyrrha recognized instantly. She turned around and found herself face to face with Jaune. At seeing her, he had frozen, standing half in and half out of the door.

Pyrrha walked up to her blonde partner. After the dream, she was still feeling torn up inside, and she kept remembering the look on Jaune's face as he lay on the ground of the dark forest. Relief flowed through her like she had never felt before, and she threw her arms around the awkward boy. She hardly ever expressed emotion in this way, but she was so happy to confirm that everything was just a dream.

"Pyrrha?" Jaune asked, his confusion plain. She cursed herself mentally, she should have known he would come to the roof to clear his head. It's where he always went.

"I'm so sorry Jaune," she whispered in his ear, hugging him tightly. His arms wrapped around her, comforting her. She felt so much better with Jaune there, just hugging her back. Their close proximity almost allowed Pyrrha to forget why she couldn't be with him now. She tensed as she remembered Cardin's threat.

"I promise, I'm going to fix this." She said to him, her voice still low. She pushed against his chest as guilt started crashing over her. She had to get away from him, or she wasn't sure she could stay away. "I'm so sorry." It was taking all of her self control to keep her voice level. As she started to move past him, his hand light grabbed her forearm. She kept moving, his hand sliding down until he was holding her hand. Pyrrha paused a moment at that. There was a warm bloom in her chest at that contact, the way he gingerly held her hand. It was crushed immediately by the hollow feeling in her stomach. She quickly but softly let her hand drop away from his. Pyrrha realized she had unconsciously started moving towards him at the contact, and quickly pulled away from him, striding through the door and back to the dorm.

She reached her room to find Ren and Nora already there. Nora was trying to balance a textbook on her nose, and Ren was polishing his twin pistols. Pyrrha politely greeted her team mates, and made some small talk. Ren answered her questions courteously, but Nora was too intent on her balancing act to answer. Pyrrha noticed that Ren looked tired, and he was giving Pyrrha concerned glances whenever she answered on of his questions. Pyrrha really didn't feel like talking though, so she headed to the washroom with her night clothes, got changed, and got into bed. She pulled the sheets up around her and stilled herself, miming sleep.

But she didn't sleep for a long time. Eventually Ren and Nora got ready for bed, and after they were sound asleep she heard the door open again. It was Jaune of course. Pyrrha didn't move, but listened as she heard his heavy steps as he went to the bathroom and changed into his blue onesie. She heard him get into bed, but doubted he was sleeping. The two of them lay in their beds awake late into the night. Any other time she likely would have tapped him on the shoulder and taken him into the hallway where they could chat, but she didn't dare. She had lost her composure already on the roof, and she couldn't let herself do it again. Her mind raced into the early hours of the morning as she thought about her predicament. She needed to find a way to help Jaune with the tournament, but with the forced wall Pyrrha had made herself build between the two, she had no idea how.

It took a long time, but eventually Pyrrha's mind slowed with drowsiness, and she fell into a light sleep, resigned to figure out a solution soon.

**Thanks for reading! Oh, and don't worry about Blake! I haven't forgotten about her, but I've decided to cut her part in this chapter into the next chapter as it was starting to get a bit long. The next chapter may take more than a day to write out, as I will be too busy to write the entirety in one day. I hope you're all still enjoying, and as always, tips, suggestions and comments are greatly appreciated and will help greatly as I work to improve my writing skills.**


	4. Chapter 4

Jaune woke up that morning feeling more confused than ever. He supposed that was becoming normal now. He had stayed up late the last night, thinking about his most recent encounter with Pyrrha. He couldn't help but think of the way he felt when he held her tight in a hug. He never wanted that moment to end. He had been close to his partner before in their combat practices, and they had hugged before a few times, but it had felt different. It felt important, like that embrace was the last lifeline that held the two together.

He also couldn't deny how much he had enjoyed it. Being that close to her had been electrifying for the blonde teen. He had always enjoyed her company, but when she had hugged him the previous night, his entire body, from his finger tips to the tips of his ears, had buzzed with uncontrollable energy. It had to end, of course, but in that moment, Jaune had wanted nothing more but for time to stop.

After she had left, Jaune had stayed on the roof for a long time. He was shocked at what had just happened, and a little confused. One thing, however, was prevalent to him. Pyrrha didn't want whatever was happening to happen. She had apologized to him on the rooftop, and Jaune could tell that whatever was happening had hurt her. He had stood on the rooftop, steaming in frustration and rage, unable to stay calm knowing that Pyrrha was hurting. It had taken him a long time to calm down enough to return to the dorm. By the time he got back, everyone was asleep already, so Jaune got into bed quickly. He laid in his bed for hours, thinking about Pyrrha, and what he could possibly do to help. He hadn't been able to fall asleep for hours.

When he woke up, he got ready and quickly left for the cafeteria. For the first time in days he actually felt like he could stomach eating something. When he got there, he sat in his usual spot and noticed Pyrrha in her new corner of the cafeteria. Judging from the dark shadows under her eyes, she hadn't been able to sleep any better than he had. She looked up from her small breakfast and made eye contact with him. She quickly ducked her head, but Jaune saw the trace of a smile on her lips. The first he had seen since Friday.

It wasn't long before the rest of his team started showing up along with team RWBY. Ren looked tired, as though his rest hadn't been much more gratifying than Jaune's own, but Nora looked as perky as ever. Team RWBY didn't look too well off. Weiss looked grumpy, which wasn't too unusual. Ruby looked a little hurt, and kept looking at Weiss dejectedly. Yang and Blake didn't say a word to each other. For Blake, it wasn't unusual, but Yang always talked.

After exchanging a few pleasant greetings, team RWBY took their usual seats across from team JNPR, and started chatting idly with the other team. The two teams chatted a little, Jaune partaking in the conversation a little bit. He was still distracted, but it no longer felt like someone was constantly slicing up his insides.

Yang finally got Blake to partake in the discussion by asking if the latter wanted to go for a picnic with her for lunch. Yang's dark haired partner respond with a curt yes and a glimmer of a smile. The two teams finished their breakfasts and headed their respective ways. Jaune decided to try to train again. He was feeling a bit better about Pyrrha, but he could hardly forget the deadline hanging over his head. He finally felt like things might get better with Pyrrha, but he still had other issues to deal with. He had registered for the tournament, and the bracket was going to be released later that week.

Though Jaune felt more confident than he ever had before in his life, he still doubted he could stand up against anyone who had made it into the prestigious academies that made up the tournament. After breakfast, Jaune decided to head down to the practice room where he worked on his techniques for hours on end. He didn't feel like he was improving, however, not like when he worked with Pyrrha. Every time he practiced with his partner, he felt like he got better by leaps and bounds, but against dummies it felt like he was only marginally improving. At best, he might be getting a little faster, but his strategy and thinking wasn't improving. That was what Jaune had to focus on; he knew he would never win out of speed or strength alone. He had to out think his opponent.

Despite his experience with the Death Stalker where Jaune felt the procession of the battle naturally, Jaune was having issues working on this tactical thinking against Pyrrha and the dummies. Pyrrha was simply impossible to touch, her defense as perfect as her offense. The dummies were the opposite, providing no mental stimulus at all. Jaune sighed and sheathed his sword. He turned away from the targets, unsatisfied with his training session. If he had been working at it this much in his free time all year, Jaune might've been able to improve enough, but he doubted it. Pyrrha's guidance had already brought him further than he could've ever hoped to get on his own, and he no longer had that luxury.

As he started towards the door, he saw Pyrrha leaning against the wall, watching him. She stopped him dead in his tracks. He wasn't sure what to do anymore. She winked at him then moved away, but Jaune saw her leave a small piece of paper on a railing on her way out. He went over and picked it up, unfolding it to read a small message scrolled in it.

_Stay lower in your stance. _

_Swing with your body, not just your arms._

_Try not to step into every attack, it's an obvious tell for your opponents. _

_Keep working. _

Jaune smiled lightly at the sheet of paper. He didn't know if she had somehow found out about the tournament or if she was just trying to show that they were still friends, but Jaune treasured that piece of paper immediately. His spirits lifting partially, he headed to the cafeteria again to get lunch. He was famished after training for so long. He ate alone, his team apparently elsewhere. Just when he was about to leave, Ruby sat across from him, looking distracted.

"Hey Ruby, what's up?"

"Weiss isn't mad at me anymore. I don't know why."

"Isn't that a good thing?"

"Yeah, but she was getting really frustrated with me for not doing enough work. Now she's just not getting mad at me, she just stares at a little game device thingy."

"Weiss is playing on a game tablet?" Jaune's mind was utterly blown. Weiss was the last person he would ever expect to pass on a chance to yell at someone for a game.

"Yep."

"Whoa, well just roll with it. Your team seems to be getting back on it's feet." Ruby perked up at that.

"Yeah! That's true! I hope Blake has a good time with Yang on their picnic. They've been acting weird together for too long. If they're good again after this, maybe things will get back to normal. I hope Blake's dealt with that thing, whatever it is." Jaune's head spun trying to follow the different topics the smaller redhead shot through in such a short span of time. He finally decided to pursue one subject.

"What's up with Blake anyway?"

"Well, she won't tell us. She says she has to deal with it one her own." Ruby looked troubled again at that.

"Is that a problem?"

"Well, she's a part of a team. I would think she would at least trust us with what it was, even if she deals with it on her own. I mean, what could be so bad that she couldn't tell us? And if it's that bad, what's it going to do to us as a team?"

"I honestly don't know Ruby, but I hope it works out for you guys." Jaune wasn't sure how to comfort the redhead.

"Thank Jaune, by the way, I saw your name get put in the tournament draw. I didn't think you were going to enter."

"I wasn't going to actually."

"So what happened?"

"It's a long story," Jaune answered, really not feeling like talking about it. Thinking about it was starting to get him anxious again. He steered the conversation to less serious topics. He would have gotten up and left already, but he didn't want to leave Ruby eating all by herself. Once she had finished her meal, Jaune excused himself.

He headed to the training rooms once more, determined to improve. He kept Pyrrha's list in mind as he swung at the targets again. He got bored of simply swinging his sword around quickly, but he kept going. Jaune didn't want to miss a single second of training before the tournament. So Jaune trained all day, not stopping despite his body feeling heavier and heavier.

Blake sat on the soft blanket across from Yang. The two were sitting in a small patch of forest on the edge of Forever Fall. If they were to move a dozen feet into the forest, the small light red petals of the forest would be falling all around the. The two had been in there initially, but when the petals started catching on Yang's hair, Yang had freaked out and Blake suggested they move to the edge of the forest, giggling all the while.

All of the previous day, the two had hardly talked. After Yang's proclamation outside of the library, Blake had grown a bit wary. She wanted to spend time with Yang, but was worried the other girl would take any move as a distraction and get mad with her. So Blake had waited, hoping that Yang would suggest something. Yang, for her part, seemed to feel bad for her partner, and suggested a lunchtime picnic with her that morning at breakfast. Blake had eagerly accepted, feeling guilty for using Yang earlier on.

So the two found themselves with a few tuna sandwiches, some milk and some catnip. Blake glared at yang when she saw the herb in the basket, but the Blonde just burst out laughing. Blake was having some issues staying mad at her partner with how bubbly she was, so she let it slide.

Other than the gag with the catnip, Yang refrained from teasing Blake, seeming to genuinely want to spend quality time together. That was one of the reasons Blake liked Yang so much. Yang knew how to have fun, and she liked to tease others, but when it came down to it, she would do whatever she could for those she cared about. Blake enjoyed her sandwich along with Yang, who sat in a rare comfortable silence.

Blake snuggled up next to Yang as she finished eating and sipped on her milk. The blonde allowed Blake to cuddle up against her, and stroked her hair lightly. Blake's worries were quickly washing away as she spent time with her partner. Yang undid the bow in Blake's hair, allowing her ears free range. Blake still felt a little uncomfortable when Yang did that, but she let it drop as her partner slowly rubbed her ears.

"Prrrrrrrrrrrrrr" Blake shot up away from Yang, blushing furiously. The sound of pleasure had escaped her throat before she had registered it. Yang laughed heartily.

"C'mon it's sooo cute!" She laughed at her partner. Blake flattened her ears and shot at dark look at Yang. Yang laughed again. "C'mere, you!"

Yang leaned forward and pulled Blake against her. The two looked into each other's eyes briefly before Blake slowly leaned in and kissed Yang quickly. She pulled back a little bit before Yang draped her arms around Blake's neck and pulled her in for a deep passionate kiss. Blake leaned into Yang as she started to slide her hand along her partner's side. Yang laid down onto her back, bringing Blake with her. Blake ran her hand from Yang's stomach down onto her thigh, feeling the lean, powerful muscle there. The two partners pressed against each other, kissing furiously. Somewhere in the back of her mind, Blake noted how different this was than the other night. Whereas there it had been a fiery an intense kiss, it lacked the passion that she had now. Deep in her stomach, Blake started to feel warm where there had been nothing but ice for the past few days.

Blake rolled over so that her blonde partner was now on top of her, and pulled Yang into her as the two kissed. She slowly worked Yang's lips open with her tongue, desiring to feel the latter kiss her back with all her passion. The two kissed for a long time, but eventually Blake felt compelled to break it off. Her cat ears had started to buzz, and Blake had started to lose control of her composure, so she broke it off, not wanting to go any further with Yang. Not right then.

"Well, that was a thing." Yang said, her eyes bright and shining at Blake. Blake blushed a bit, she had never really been that intimate with anyone before. The introverted faunus had never had a serious relationship before, and she was finding her time away with Yang more and more pleasing. The two lay down on the blanket and looked into the forest, watching the endless fall of the rosy petals. Blake's mood fouled as thoughts of the letter started to return to her mind. She grimaced and reached for her bow, tying it around her ears again.

She thought about all the weight she felt she was carrying because of that note. Blake looked over at Yang, who smiled back at her. Yang reached out and took Blake's hand, holding it between them. The physical contact was reassuring, and Blake felt a little guilty. She mentally checked herself. That sort of thought was foreign to her. For the first time in her life, she felt like there was someone she could confide in. The thought caught in her mind. She wanted to trust Yang, tell her about the letter, but at the same time, she was worried of opening up to another.

Taking a deep breath, Blake sat up and looked down at Yang beside her. The blonde propped herself up on her elbows, at attention, sensing that Blake was about to say something. Blake closed her eyes, trying to calm her heartbeat.

"Yang.." She began, but found it impossible to get the rest out. She simply could not bring herself to tell her partner about the letter. She started to shake a bit, her stomach feeling queasy.

"What is it Blake?" Yang's voice had her ever present contented edge, but when Blake opened her eyes and looked down at Yang, her eyes were full of worry.

"I," Again, Blake found it impossible to finish the sentence. She lowered her gaze to a spot on the blanket, unable to meet Yang's gaze. "Never mind, forget it." she said quietly. She felt a hand on her back.

"It's alright Blake, you don't have to tell me right now. But if you ever want to, I'll be here." Blake looked at Yang gratefully. The optimistic blonde was more understanding than Blake would have ever thought when she first started going out with her as more than friends. The two stayed there for a moment as Blake centered herself once more. "Now come on, let's head back. I don't want Weiss to kill my little sister before we get back. Those two have been at each other's throats lately."

Blake agreed, and the two packed up the picnic. Blake paused before putting the blanket back in the basket, remarking how this could hardly have been Yang's idea of a good time out. Yang loved to do exciting things, more likely to want to go hunting Nevermore together than to go out for dinner, let alone a romantic picnic. She smiled lightly as she realized that her partner had set this up for the sole reason of making Blake's day a bit brighter. She thought about the simple and sweet action as they made their way back to Beacon. She grabbed Yang's hand just outside the gate into the school to stop her for a moment.

"Yes?" The blonde inquired.

"Just, thanks Yang. I really needed that." Yang smiled at her knowingly. Blake was not a faunus of many words, and a sincere thanks like that was all Yang needed. Blake liked her even more for knowing that. It was then that Blake resigned to tell Yang about the letter. She would tell her just after dinner, before she made preparations to meet with the sender of the letter. The two walked slowly back to the dorms, Blake savoring the time she spent alone in comfortable silence with her partner. They didn't hold hands or anything, Yang respecting that Blake didn't like public displays of affection.

Eventually they found themselves back in front of the dorm. Blake gave Yang a final, quick kiss before they opened the door. Ruby was sitting on her top bunk with a book open, taking a few notes. Weiss was below her with something clutched between her hands. As Blake and Yang approached, Weiss shrieked and thrust one hand up in a fist pump.

"Yes!" She exclaimed excitedly. "Just two more moves and Remnant will be all mine!"

Yang and Blake stopped in their tracks.

"Um, Ruby? Did you break Weiss?" Yang asked, a little worried.

"Hm? Oh, no. She found a version of that game we showed her and Blake in the library a while ago. She's been playing for hours and won't give up until she has 'become the most iconic figure in the history of the world.' I'm a little worried."

Blake smirked at this. She might have expected Ruby to be playing the game and Weiss to be studying, but she never would have guessed that this situation would ever arise. Blake strolled to her bed and rolled onto her soft mattress. She stretched out, and the next while passed as Ruby, Yang, and Weiss chatted idly. Mostly Yang teasing Weiss about being a nerd for playing that game.

Blake's mind, however, was elsewhere. As the others joked and killed the time easily, Blake lay down and started thinking about that night. It was finally going to happen. She was finally going to come face to face with whoever sent the letter. Blake wanted to make a plan, but had no idea what she could do. She was uncertain of the identity of whoever had written the letter, so couldn't prepare of any personal knowledge. In addition to the issue of identity, Blake also had to deal with the fact that the letter contained next to no information. The only thing she knew was the location of the meeting. The fountain. There wasn't much to work with there. An open courtyard with a medium sized fountain in it. Blake's mood fouled. Not only was her stomach roiling with anticipation, but she couldn't even plan for what was happening.

She couldn't stand the feeling of helplessness that was overcoming her. Blake didn't want to admit it, but she was scared. Her past was catching up with her, and she was terrified that it would cost her everything around her. She didn't know what agenda the letter-sender held, but she was sure that if it was from the White Fang, it would threaten her life at Beacon. She didn't want to lose it: Beacon, her team, her friends, and Yang.

For the first time since Blake could remember, she wasn't ready to run. She had had friends before, people she trusted. She had even almost had relationships before, but it had never been solid. Blake's life had never been stable. It had hurt her to leave others, but she had always been able to survive it. Her past was troubling, but if Beacon and all it entailed became apart of that past, it would destroy her. Her helplessness and fear did nothing but fuel her anger, make the faunus feel more and more irritated and edgy.

One thought continued to prevail in her thoughts. What if she had to leave?

She would never do it willingly, but she had to consider the very real possibility that whoever it was intended to expose her past to those in positions of authority at Beacon. Blake wouldn't let that happen. Despite her new ties to the school, it only provided her extra incentive to flee. She wouldn't allow herself to be exposed for two reasons. The first was that she couldn't let herself be caught by the White Fang. If they ever caught her, they might kill her, or possibly worse, force her to work for them to hurt innocent people. The second seemed a much more powerful than her own freedom and fear now, and that was her friends. She didn't want to hurt them. She didn't know she could bear to watch Yang if she was outed. Worse was if she wasn't outed, and the White Fang forced her to work for them. She couldn't imagine hurting her partner like that.

"Blake?"

"What?" Blake snapped at Ruby, who had asked the question.

"Whoa there," Yang cut in. "Hey, you alright?" Blake looked up, irritated.

"Fine." She cut the conversation off short.

"Ooookay." Ruby half whistled, "Well, we're just going to get some dinner, come on!" Blake had to actively stop herself from glaring at her team leader. Instead, she tried to stay composed as she stood with them, heading towards the cafeteria.

Blake noted that it could be her last dinner with her friends.

Blake snuck out of her room silently. It was a little past eleven at that point, and her team mates were sound asleep. Blake was used to being silent, and had been apart of a fair share of stealth based missions, so sneaking past her friends came naturally. It felt wrong, however, almost as though she were lying to them.

She snuck through the hallways of Beacon, her steps making no sound as they fell on the hard floor. She found her way outside and started heading towards the fountain. She remarked that it felt good to finally be confronting the issue that had been weighing her down for the past few days. At the same time though Blake felt hollow. She was afraid of who she might find waiting for her.

She rounded the corner to the fountain and climbed a tree where she could overlook the scene. She thought she might get the jump on her visitor if she got there early enough. She surveyed the scene. the fountain and courtyard were dimly lit by a few dust lamps around the edges. This had the effect that the fountain was the darkest part, the water nothing but the outline of a shadow against the somewhat lighter backdrop of the paved stones. She scanned the courtyard for a good time, looking for the slightest movement. When nothing showed, she started looking at the sparse trees planted around the outside, wondering if perhaps her caller had the same idea as her.

The night's gloom had little effect on Blake, her eyes easily adjusting to the darkness so it was hardly any different than during the day. She stood on the branch of the tree she had chosen and stared intently around the courtyard. She studied her surroundings for close to 45 minutes with nothing to show for it. It was approaching midnight now, and Blake sighed. It had been a long shot that whoever had written the letter would show themselves before she did, but she had to try.

Blake gracefully slid down the tree to land softly on the ground beneath her. She stepped warily into the light of the courtyard, walking up to the fountain. It must have been midnight by the time Blake reached the middle, stepping slowly and gingerly towards the fountain. Despite her slow approach, she could sense nothing of anyone around her. She reached the fountain, but there was still no sign of movement. Growing frustrated, Blake decided to check the other side of the fountain, chastising herself for not doing that from the cover of the trees.

However, instead of another person when she reached the other side of the fountain, she found another envelope. _Of course, _she thought to herself, _why allow me to possibly make preparations for the encounter when you hold all the chips._ Whoever it was was smart, and that worried Blake. She knew she was smarter than most others, but she was less confident going up against someone who was smart enough to actually plan this through.

She opened the envelope, the mark of the White Fang in the top corner. She pulled out the letter and read the directions.

_"Outside the gate," _Was all the letter said. Blake sighed and strode out of the courtyard towards the entrance of Beacon. She reached it quickly, but slowed when she saw the outline of a tall man, standing and facing away from her. He was in the middle of the path, making no attempt to hide himself. She recognized the outline immediately, her stomach sinking in apprehension.

As she walked up behind him, he turned his face to the side and she could see the outline of his face, the top half covered in a white mask with red designs on it.

"Hello Blake," Adam Taurus, Blake's old partner said, "It's been far, far, too long."


	5. Chapter 5

Blake reeled at the sight of him. A dozen thoughts rushed through her mind at once. Should she turn tail and run, draw her sword and charge, yell at him, yell for help maybe? Her mind was alight, screaming at her to do a million things but what she did. She walked slowly towards him until she stood next to her old partner. Blake's entire body was buzzing with energy, ready to spring any which way at the slightest action.

"Adam..." Blake's voice trailed off. She didn't know what to say. The thought that it had been Adam that had sent the message had crossed her mind many times, but she had hoped against everything she knew that it was someone, anyone, else. Blake had cared about Adam, and up until she had considered leaving Yang, leaving him had been the hardest thing she'd done. She hadn't had a choice, he was putting innocent lives in danger, and she couldn't stand him for that.

"Hello Blake, how have you been.?" The simple question threw Blake hard. She didn't know what she had expected, but it hadn't been small talk.

"Why are you here?" Blake ignored his question.

"For you, Blake. When you left, it was hard. I missed you." It surprised Blake how genuine his voice sounded.

"Adam... You were going to let them all die. Blowing up the dust shipment I understood, it sent a message. But the crew members? They hadn't done anything to us. I couldn't let them die."

"I was doing what I thought was right, Blake. They're entire race has subjected us to hatred and racism for generations. Aren't you just tired of being pushed around?" Those words struck Blake. It was exactly how she had felt, and almost the exact words she had shouted at Weiss when the ice queen had been antagonizing her.

"I-" Blake started, but stumbled on her own words. "Of course I'm tired. What's happening to the faunus, it's wrong, but it doesn't justify hurting so many people."

"We've tried being peaceful, it didn't work Blake. I'm just fighting for my kind, something you seem to have forgotten." The disappointment in his voice cut her. "You used to wear that bow when we would go on missions. Now you wear it all the time Blake, why?" It was the second time Blake had been asked that question.

"You know why."

"Because the humans wouldn't treat you fairly." Blake sighed at Adam's words. He was right, after all. "I just don't want that to happen anymore. That's all I'm fighting for. So our kind have the same chances in life as everyone else."

"And how does killing innocent people help?" Blake shot back at him.

"After what they've done to us, how can you call them innocent? How can any of them be innocent?" There was an edge to his voice. Blake was inclined to agree, but then she thought of her team. Ruby, Weiss, and especially Yang. Weiss was the only one who actively distrusted the faunus, but that was because she had been a victim in their fight. Maybe no one's hands were clean, but neither was better than the other.

"Trust me, there's a lot of good people. Just because there's a few of them that are discriminatory doesn't mean that they deserve this fight."

"If that were true, you wouldn't wear a bow." Adam's voice cut through her argument. The one, simple phrase struck her as truth. "I just wish they would give us a fair chance. I'm sure if they could just see how great you were, and that you were a faunus, everyone would see that being a faunus wasn't a bad thing." Blake caught her breath at Adam's words. His voice had dropped to a hopeful tone, and his words sparked something in her chest. His absolute faith in her hadn't wavered, even after their time apart. Blake refused to answer his comment.

"So you want me to come with you? Go fight for the White Fang?"

"I would give anything for it." Adam had never given a second thought to those he didn't know, but when it came to those he cared for, Adam was the most loyal faunus Blake had ever met. The two had been incredibly close, and just spending a few minutes with him was sending Blake's mind into a turmoil. Part of her wanted to leave, go with him. It would be just like it was before, the two of them fighting for a better world, but she knew it wasn't an option. She couldn't go back after what he had done.

"Adam, I can't. WIth everything that's happening? This my home now, and I'm on the other side of the battle. I'm training to protect the innocent from the forces that conspire against Remnant. I won't fight for the White Fang because they'll hurt more people than they could ever off balance with good deeds."

Adam was silent for a moment, the two standing side by side, looking out from Beacon. Blake hoped he would understand, but she doubted it. Adam was someone who felt so passionately that he was willing to kill innocents in support of his ideals. He was extreme, that was a word Blake could use to define his entire personality.

"Can I ask you a question?" Adam said finally, a sad, almost desperate note in his voice. Blake wanted to shut him out, send him packing and go back to her life, but the edge to his voice stopped her. Instead of answering, she nodded curtly.

"Do you enjoy it? Here, at Beacon." The question took Blake by surprise, knocking her off guard.

"Yes, I love it here. I finally feel like I belong, like I have a home." Blake didn't know why she was being so honest, but Adam had always had that effect on her. She never felt like she needed to hide anything from him. Somewhere, buried deep in her mind, she knew that it was because no matter how horrific something she had done was, Adam would accept her. He had probably done worse after all. There was a sort of extreme freedom to that knowledge.

"Then I'm glad for you, Blake. I grew up in the White Fang. They're all I've ever known. I know I'd never be happy here, but I might have been once. I won't try to force you to abandon it, I would never do that to you, but Blake, I came here to convince you. Failing that, I came to warn you. The White Fang are recruiting, and they're hunting down old associates. Those who refuse to join simply disappear."

"I'll stay on guard, thank you Adam. Is that all?" Blake was trying her best to close herself off again. Her slip up of honesty bothered her. There were few people in Vale that could shake Blake's centered composure, and she didn't want a member of the White Fang to be one of them.

"Of course. Enjoy your time at Beacon, Blake. I hope it lasts longer than I think it will. And if you need to find me or change your mind, well, just think of old times."

With that, Blake's old partner walked calmly away, disappearing into the shadows of the night. Blake stared after him for some time, doing her best to absorb the odd encounter. So the White Fang were either recruiting or eliminating everyone who used to be associated with them. Blake thought she had hidden well enough that they wouldn't find her, but if Adam had tracked her down, how long would it take the rest of the organization to catch up?

Blake finally turned away from the spot where Adam had disappeared, shivering a little. She hadn't felt vulnerable for a long time, but her short conversation with the other faunus left her feeling like she was chained in front of a thousand Deathstalkers. Blake's breath came more sharply and more shallowly as she made her way back to her dorm. She couldn't imagine sleeping at this point, but didn't want her team mates to wake up with her gone. They had been worrying about her lately, and she didn't want to bring scrutiny to her situation.

Blake had wanted to end it that night, but she now felt more conflicted than before. She was going to have to be extra careful now, especially around Yang, to keep her emotions in check. She didn't like how much her composure had been breaking recently, and vowed to herself not to let herself open up anymore. She had to be on guard and ready for the White Fang, and she didn't want her friends to press her for what was going on.

She finally reached the hallway that led to her room, and was surprised to see Pyrrha sitting outside of her room. The redhead looked up as Blake approached.

"Oh, hello Blake." Pyrrha's voice took on it's natural polite tone, and Blake wondered how the redhead managed to be so kind all the time. Blake for her part barely acknowledged Pyrrha, giving a simple head nod. Blake sat across from the spartan, who was still wearing all her battle gear. The two looked at each other for a while, before Pyrrha broke the silence.

"What are you doing out so late?"

"I... Went for a walk." Blake drew out the words lazily, something she did normally and knew wouldn't raise alarm in the kind redhead.

"Ah," Pyrrha let it drop, though her eyes told Blake that she was hardly convinced.

"And what are you doing, Pyrrha?"

"Waiting until it's late enough that I know everyone will be asleep. I don't want Jaune to still be awake when I enter." Pyrrha's words confused Blake. Why on earth would she need to wait until he was asleep to even go into her own dorm room. Blake's confusion must have been painted all over her face, as Pyrrha dropped her shoulders. "It's a long story, I'd rather not share right now. I assume it's the same with you."

"Right," Blake confirmed. She had noticed Pyrrha acting oddly lately, eating away from the usual group and never hanging out with Jaune as the two normally would. Blake hadn't invested any time in thinking about it because of her own issues, but she realized that maybe she wasn't the only one having a hard time. The two sat in silence for a moment.

"Are you going to be okay?" Pyrrha's voice held genuine concern. She wasn't going to press for information, but the redhead's caring nature must have compelled her to ensure her friend was alright.

"Honestly, I don't know." Blake answered, letting her frustration leak into her voice. She didn't know, and felt helpless once again. Then she smiled to herself slightly. "But I know I'm not going down without fighting." Pyrrha nodded in an understanding manner. Blake felt a flash of sympathy for the redhead. For the whole time Blake had known her, Pyrrha had always given, helping others. Now there was obliviously something troubling her, and Blake couldn't say she had seen the redhead allowing anyone to comfort her.

"Do you think you can handle it?" Blake asked the girl sitting across from her. Pyrrha looked up, seemingly surprised that someone had asked about her well being. Blake supposed that when you spent most of your time helping others, receiving the same attention you gave out could be shocking.

"I'm not sure," the redhead replied softly. "I've never had to deal with something like this before. I feel terrible." The redhead's brow furrowed, "And I need to find a way to make things better soon, or there might be bigger repercussions for more people..." Her voice trailed off, and Pyrrha seemed overcome with sadness.

The two sat in silence for a while. It wasn't uncomfortable, but it was clear neither of the huntresses in training wanted to share more. Blake stood finally, offering her hand to Pyrrha. The other girl took it graciously and stood, the two looking into each other's eyes in understanding.

"I hope everything works out, Blake." Pyrrha finally said.

"Likewise," Blake replied curtly, but not without an edge of empathy.

The two parted, entering their respective dorm rooms. Blake allowed the door to click softly behind her and moved towards her bed. She was too tired to bother getting changed into her night clothes. She ducked down and rolled smoothly onto her bed. She lay there for a long time, her mind restlessly shifting. She kept thinking about Adam and the White Fang, and she kept thinking about what she could possibly do to stop them from coming after her. She came to the conclusion that she had to see how bad it was for other ex-associates, but other than that, Blake's fatigued and stressed mind couldn't come up with any progressive thoughts.

Blake twisted and turned for what felt like hours, unable to calm down enough to sleep. Growling in frustration, Blake sat up on the edge of her bed. She looked up, and got an idea. She crawled into Yang's bunk above her own and snuggled up against her partner. Yang always had a calming effect on Blake when she was stressed, and Blake hoped she could help here as well. Blake wrapped her legs around Yang's own and lay with her arm on her partner's stomach and her head resting on Yang's shoulder.

She didn't bother waking Yang, figuring the blonde would be more excited waking up with Blake next to her and no idea how it happened. Blake smirked at the thought of her partner waking up the next morning. Blake felt instantly calmer, and instead of thinking of the White Fang, she focused on how comfortable she felt next to Yang. The physical contact between the two was enough to calm Blake to the point where she fell into a fitful sleep within minutes.

Monday. Pyrrha couldn't believe the weekend had ended already. Normally, she wouldn't mind the return to classes at all, perhaps she might've even looked forward to the predictable routine, but now everyday that passed made Pyrrha feel guilty as Jaune's time at Beacon came closer to an end. She knew she had to go to class, but she felt guilty not investing every moment of her time into looking for a way to help Jaune.

She woke early, as she had the past few days, and got ready for the upcoming classes. She took a quick shower, then quickly donned her uniform. She grabbed her books, then headed out to get a quick breakfast, hopefully before the rest of her team awoke. When she arrived, however, her heart dropped. The only other people in the cafeteria were Velvet Scarletina along with her team, and team CRDL.

Pyrrha did her best to maintain her composure and walked towards her new customary corner of the cafeteria with her head held high. She didn't want to give Cardin the satisfaction of knowing that his scheme had worked, and Pyrrha had been hurt more than he might have hoped for. She grabbed a bowl of cereal, thankfully a healthier kind than that which she had modeled for, and tried to eat it as fast as she could without appearing rushed. Unfortunately for her, her entrance hadn't gone unnoticed, and Cardin got up from his spot near the middle of the cafeteria to walk over and sit across from Pyrrha.

"Hello there Pyrrha." The large leader of team CRDL drawled lazily, "How is our local celebrity today?" His lazy tone turned into a vicious sneer. Pyrrha couldn't help but remember her nightmare from earlier. Despite her irrational terror, Pyrrha stayed calm and composed. She hoped that if she starved Cardin of her pain, he might relent on his demands.

"I'm doing well, Cardin, thank you. How are you?" Pyrrha spoke in her practiced, polished polite voice. She had spoken using that voice for years, and it came more naturally now than when she spoke emotionally. In all truth, the only times she hadn't used it recently were with team RWBY and team JNPR.

"Let's not lie here, Pyrrha. We're buds now right? I've seen the way you've been around Jauney boy lately. Are you two breaking up now?" Cardin's voice was full of mock sympathy. Pyrrha almost hit him then, but shoved the urge into the dark recesses of her mind. She could take whatever Cardin had to throw at her, but she was disappointed to find that the shots at Jaune still affected her in a way she couldn't control. Despite her quick flare of emotion, Pyrrha managed to maintain her polite demeanor.

"What do you want Cardin?"

"Pyrrha, can't a friend check in on another friend?"

"We are not friends, Cardin. Now why are you doing this to Jaune? He saved your life." Pyrrha couldn't help but allow an edge of exasperated anger to cut through her last words.

"Well, at first I was grateful and impressed. He killed an Ursa Major in one swing. But then we got back, and Jauney boy was still a joke. At first I thought your lessons were paying off," Cardin caught the slight forwn cross Pyrrha's face. "Oh yeah, I could hear you two on the roof. But obviously they didn't help, and then I was the guy who was _saved_ by a loser." Cardin's voice got angrier and angrier as he talked, and Pyrrha started to understand what had happened. What had initially garnered the massive teen's respect had quickly lead to him despising Jaune.

Pyrrha had never liked Cardin, but she felt she understood him on some more fundamental level at that point. It made her dislike him even more. Pyrrha could hardly say she had felt strongly enough to hate someone, but Cardin was definitely bringing her close. Without another word, Pyrrha stood up and stormed out of the cafeteria.

Rather than heading back to her room, Pyrrha decided to head straight to Oobleck's class. She figured she could at least think by herself before anyone else showed up for the beginning of Oobleck's rapid fire and non-stop lecture. When she got there, the door was open, and Pyrrha took her usual seat in the middle of the classroom a few rows from the floor where Oobleck would speak.

Pyrrha set her books in front of her and opened her notebook to the first clean page. She almost wanted the lecture to start immediately so she couldn't blot out the thoughts of Jaune and his situation with the simplicity of notes. She sighed, twiddling one of her pens between her fingers. Her encounter with Cardin had been difficult, but it had also been revealing. She now understood Cardin's motivation, and she could potentially use that against him. In addition, his desire to rub in his victory of Pyrrha made her understand that he needed to experience the fruits of his victory.

Pyrrha, however, knew that the more pressing matter was Jaune's training. He had to improve enough during the next two weeks to win in the tournament. Pyrrha had to find a way to work with him on his abilities, but couldn't risk leaving more notes for fear that Cardin might come across one of them or even learn of them from another. In addition, she doubted that they would help Jaune much. She didn't think there was a place on campus where they could continue training in private. Cardin would inevitably learn of the ruse.

No, Pyrrha needed something more direct. She needed something that she could do in front of Cardin. How could she possibly find something like that, though? It would have to be something random, something she had no control over. Then the idea struck her. It didn't have to be random, it just had to seem random.

"Oh," Pyrrha gasped, her hand flying over her mouth. She stood quickly, and rushed out of the room towards Professor Goodwitch's office. When she arrived she patted herself down to make sure she had no unseemly creases. Goodwitch had a pet peeve for unkempt clothing and disorder. Satisfied that she looked as professional as possible, Pyrrha reached out and knocked on the solid oak door.

"Come in," came the ever-stern tone of Goodwitch's voice. Pyrrha entered, and Goodwitch looked up from a few papers she had been writing on. "Miss Nikos, what would you like?" Cutting straight too it. Pyrrha was happy for Goodwitch's brusque mannerisms, as she didn't feel like playing the game of pleasantries and small talk.

"I'd like to ask a favor ma'am."

Jaune awoke feeling like he had just fought a pack of Beowolves. His incessant training the previous day had perhaps been a tad excessive in hindsight, he remarked, as he rolled out of bed and felt a thousand aches and pains all over his body. He didn't think he had ever hurt this much before in his life, even after being flung halfway across a forest by a Deathstalker. He groaned audibly as he rolled out of bed. He gathered his uniform and headed to the washroom to shower. He had slept like a baby the previous night, the first proper rest he had gotten in far too long.

It was at that point that he remembered why. Pyrrha. He didn't know how she could get him upset so easily, but suddenly the physical duress he was under paled in comparison to the massive pit in his stomach that had suddenly reappeared after being wiped out for almost an entire night. Jaune sighed.

He rolled out of bed and gathered his clothes, taking a quick shower before changing. After he got ready he checked the clock, noticing it was around the time they normally woke up as a team. As such, Jaune went over to Pyrrha's bed to wake the redhead. It took his fatigued mind a moment to notice that his partner's bed was already made and she was missing from the room. He chastised himself mentally, of course she was. Jaune didn't think she had still been in the room at all when he awoke since things started going downhill on Friday.

Instead of allowing his thoughts to roll over everything that was happening, Jaune woke Ren and Nora up. Ren wasn't an issue, he was a light sleeper, but it took the both of them a good while to wake Nora. Finally all up, Ren and Nora took turns taking in the washroom while the other chatted with Jaune. With Ren, Jaune mostly talked about classes, discussing what was likely to happen that day. With Nora, Jaune didn't have to talk much, he simply listened to the pink loving girl switch from one topic to the next at breakneck speeds.

When everyone was ready, the trio left for the cafeteria. They took their seats across from team RWBY and they all enjoyed a quick breakfast of oatmeal, cereal and toast. Blake was the only one who didn't seem contented, but Jaune didn't know if that had to do with the food or if the faunus was just acting more anti-social than usual.

In stark contrast to the dark haired teen, Yang seemed to be basically bursting at the seams with optimism and energy. Jaune felt compelled to inquire. Given recent events, he wanted to hear more about someone who seemed to be faring well.

"Let's just say I woke up on the right side of the bed this morning." Yang looked happily at the faunus beside her as she said this.

"So gross." Ruby mumbled beside the pair. Yang laughed.

"Huh?" Was the best response that Jaune could come up with.

"Well, Ruby woke us up as usual, but when she woke me up I was pleasantly surprised to find a certain lovely member of my time in bed next to me." Yang looked at her partner again, indicating who had woken up next to her. "Might've been the best way to wake up, considering it's a monday."

Ruby groaned and shivered at her sister's words. Jaune couldn't help but smile, briefly feeling happy for the couple. It didn't take long for the pit in his stomach to devour the brief flare of contentment however.

Everyone finished up their breakfasts and headed back to the dorms to pick up their books before heading off to Oobleck's class. After reconvening outside their rooms, teams RWBY and JNPR walked through the halls, the more perky members of their groups chatting away. That mostly meant Nora and Yang, with interjections from Ruby every once in a while.

Taking their usual seats, the two teams waited for Oobleck to zip into the room and start his lecture. Jaune still had issues following the professor. On a good day Jaune was disinterested and couldn't focus, but today, Jaune knew that his attention would be too firmly fixed on the redhead who was already seated in the middle of the classroom when he arrived to register anything the professor said. Pyrrha didn't bother to take a second look at Jaune, but the blonde couldn't help but look up at her every few seconds.

It was going to be a very long day.


	6. Chapter 6

Jaune had not been wrong. After spending the entire length of Oobleck's lecture thinking about Pyrrha, he had been told by the professor to complete extra readings for the following day. Jaune had accepted with a nervous smile, but inside he was groaning and cursing his teacher. There couldn't be a worse time for Jaune to be assigned extra work. Afterwards the students had proceeded to Professor Port's class.

They were only partway through the class, but already Jaune's mind was slipping away from the old hunter's anecdotes and started thinking about Pyrrha again. Jaune actually actively attempted to listen to what was happening in class, but he, along with everyone else in the class, simply could not maintain focus, and every time his focus slipped, he always found himself thinking of the same person. Pyrrha.

He couldn't get his partner off his mind, no matter how hard he tried. On a normal day, Jaune thought about his partner a fair amount due to the amount of time they spent together. Mostly out of amazement (she was currently the only student who still seemed to be capable of listening to Port), but he would also think about how lucky he was to be friends with her. It wasn't because she was a star athlete and celebrity, it was more because she was so kind, generous, and believed in him. Now though, Jaune couldn't stop thinking about her due to their precarious situation.

Jaune would have given anything to make things as they were. He wanted her to eat lunch with them again. He wanted her to still be asleep when he got up to wake his team in the morning. He wanted to train with her again. That might have been the part he missed most. There was an intimacy when it was just the two of them. Jaune missed the countless hours they had spent, just the two of them on the rooftop, slashing back and forth. He doubted Pyrrha had felt the same about their training, but Jaune treasured the memories.

He looked over at his partner, who was still making the occasional note throughout Port's magnificently dry speech. He had no idea how she managed to pick out anything important in the speeches, but Jaune had seen her notebook for the class. It was filled with glints of hidden knowledge, extracted from Port's stories of his glory days. On one occasion she had managed to transform an impressively boring story of how Port had wrestled a boarbatusk to the ground unarmed into an analysis of the movement patterns of the beasts.

It would have been an understatement to say that Jaune was floored when she showed him. Pyrrha was not the most knowledgeable person in the class, that title probably went to Weiss who already seemed to know every fact concerning the Grimm from her time being home schooled, but Pyrrha had an analytical demeanour that Jaune thought most would find hard to match.

He smiled lightly at the memory. His happiness was short lived however, as the memory sparked the realization that it was entirely possible the two would never have another moment together. With Jaune's time at Beacon growing shorter and Pyrrha distancing herself, Jaune didn't know if he and Pyrrha would even talk before he was sent packing. Jaune needed a distraction, but Port wasn't helping. The professor's voice droned on and on. To Jaune, the sounds coming from his mouth didn't even come out as words. It was just constant, boring gibberish.

Jaune flicked his textbook open. It was a desperate tactic, but the blonde boy had few options left at that point. Port never said much useful in his lectures, so Jaune decided to try to read through a few of the chapters in the remaining time. To his surprise, it seemed to work. Jaune didn't remember much of it, but as he read he forgot about Pyrrha for a short period. As such, he dove hungrily into the reading, devouring the textbook. The words scrolled through Jaune's brain. He found that some of the information was probably quite useful, though he knew he would probably forget all of it if he ever came face to face with a Grimm.

"Jaune?" Ren's raised voice broke Jaune's concentration.

"Huh? Oh, yes Ren?" Jaune's team mate lifted an eyebrow at him.

"Jaune, class ended a minute ago. Everyone's already left." He realized what Ren was saying was in fact true. The two were the last people in the class, save Port himself. Jaune decided the should leave before the professor decided to talk to them. Jaune didn't feel like dealing with another teacher today.

The two boys hurried out of the class at Jaune's insistence and made their way to the cafeteria. They saw Nora and team RWBY already in their usual spots, and Jaune noted with sadness that, yet again, Pyrrha was missing. The two boys took their seats opposite team RWBY, who all seemed to be talking jovially with Nora and each other. Well except for Blake, but Jaune was getting pretty used to that.

He ate a quick lunch, keeping his head low so that he wouldn't be tempted to scan the room for Pyrrha. Before long, he had eaten his fair share, and the others were finishing up. Once everyone was finished and Ren managed to convince Nora to leave the food alone, the two teams left for Goodwitch's class.

They arrived at the arena shortly thereafter. The seven friends took seats nearby each other, eagerly awaiting the days match ups. Jaune was nervous, knowing most of the people in the class could beat him in a fight, but nonetheless he wanted to blow off some steam in the heat of battle. Glenda Goodwitch finally walked across the stage to address the gathered students.

"Good afternoon. I hope you have all learned what you can over the past year, as we will be advancing to the next phase of training, which will not involve me teaching you any longer. You will now apply what you know, and attempt to refine the techniques you have been taught. You will now practice with you partners during this class, in hopes that you may improve enough to place higher in the tournament. This will allow you all a higher volume of training. Work hard students, I know this tournament means a lot to many of you." Jaune didn't miss the sharp look she sent his way. After finishing her speech, Goodwitch walked to the side of the raised arena and flicked on a few switches. Lights flared up overhead, illuminating the arena. Behind the main arena, there were about two dozen circles painted on the floor. There was enough room for everyone to practice at once.

"If any of you wish to schedule team matches or a match against an opponent other than your partner, come see me. Other than that, begin."

With that, the huntress beaconed for the students to come forward. The different pairs of partners moved forward to take their places in the various practice circles. Jaune noted with a pang that everyone had been sitting beside their partner other than him. He scanned the crowd, searching for Pyrrha's dark red hair. He caught sight of her as she walked evenly towards one of the circles nearer the back. Jaune followed suit.

As Jaune neared the circle, Pyrrha turned around. Jaune's throat caught. He realized he hadn't been this close to her since the night on the roof. His heart beat picked up, half in anticipation for the battle and half in anticipation to the proximity he would soon share with her.

The two squared off, and Jaune sighed as he raised his shield.

Pyrrha smiled as Goodwitch finished her small talk. It had been, after all, her own idea. It had taken some convincing, but Pyrrha eventually managed to get the huntress to allow them to train with their partners for the remainder of the year. The idea made sense, as there was little the students could learn and perfect in the remaining two weeks of the year.

Pyrrha stood and walked towards one of the training circles at the back of the room. She heard the footsteps of Jaune behind her, and turned to face him. He paused when he saw her, an unreadable mix of emotions behind his eyes. After a moment, he sighed and raised his shield.

Pyrrha smiled.

She drew Milos, leaving her shield on her back. She hoped Jaune would be able to pick up on what that meant. He did to her great pleasure, immediately putting himself on the defensive. Jaune may not have been the most skilled fighter at Beacon, but it was not for a lack of intuitive understanding.

Pyrrha crouched, readying herself to spring into action. She bounded at Jaune, leaping from left to right as she approached. She jumped into the air and thrust down at Jaune with Milos. Jaune managed to get his shield up in time, which impressed Pyrrha. She had made the attack at almost full speed. Unfortunately, to get the block up in time, Jaune had sacrificed his stance. Pyrrha dropped down to the ground and kicked his legs out from under him. She bent down and grabbed Jaune by his wrist and heaved him back onto his feat.

"Keep your stance, don't break it for a parry. It may even be better to take a hit in stance than manage a block off stance." She said in an even tone. Jaune's mouth opened, and he stuttered out a few mixed sounds. "Let's go again." Pyrrha suggested, cutting him off. She didn't have all the time in the world, and she would make their new training sessions count.

Pyrrha skipped away, allowing Jaune to retake his stance. She bounded towards him again, keeping the pattern of dodging from side to side. This time, however, instead of jumping, Pyrrha dropped, twisting to slash at Jaune's side where he was exposed. Jaune parried with his sword. Pyrrha twirled backwards, putting some distance between the two.

She lunged in, slashing with Milos. Jaune blocked with his shield, keeping his stance. This time Pyrrha didn't give him the luxury of recovering. She attacked again with Milos, stabbing at his shoulder. She went slow enough that it was still defendable. Jaune rolled to the side, and came up on one knee. His shield was already raised, expecting another attack from Pyrrha.

Pyrrha waited, however, until he began to stand up. His shield dropped slightly for a fraction of a moment, and Pyrrha struck. She rapped the top of his shield with the flat of her blade, knocking it out to the side. She stepped easily inside his guard, raising Milos to his throat, her other arm wrapping around to hold Jaune's neck from the back. She leant in to Jaune's ear.

"Arms stay up, always." She whispered into his ear. The move was entirely unnecessary., and she probably wouldn't admit it to anyone, but she was savoring the close contact with her partner. She gently stepped away from him, taking her shield from her back. She took up a defensive stance, giving Jaune the opportunity to strike first.

After retaking his stance, Jaune stepped forward and slashed out. Pyrrha easily deflected the blow and stepped forward with a slash of her own. It was a simple strike, and Jaune knocked it aside with his shield. Pyrrha allowed Jaune to return with a strike of his own. The two traded blows, dancing back and forth. At first, Jaune's movements were stiff and clunky, but as the two went back and forth, he loosened up. Pyrrha slowly increased the pace of her blows, forcing him to speed up. Pyrrha was impressed, but as she settled into a comfortable rhythm in her blows, she noticed that Jaune was struggling. He simply couldn't keep up with her when it came to sword play. Pyrrha didn't expect him to, but kept the pace constant. She wanted to know how long he could keep up under her onslaught.

It became apparent after a minute or so of continuous combat that Jaune couldn't keep trading blows with Pyrrha at that pace. He started to back away from the redhead. She had him beat, but Pyrrha knew that it was at that point that some competitors would let their guard down. Feigning the over confident demeanor of some of the athletes, Pyrrha allowed her arms to drop to her side. Jaune frowned, and Pyrrha was worried he would simply admit defeat. However, as she raised her arm to deliver the final blow, he kicked at her legs.

His foot connected with her grieves, and if it hadn't been for Pyrrha's trained balance, she would have fallen. As it were, she managed to only stumble back. As she moved, she flipped Milos around her wrist, transforming it into a javelin. She took a split second to pause and aim, then launched the javelin at Jaune. Before her partner had a chance to react, he found himself pinned to the floor by his hoodie. Jaune groaned, realizing the familiar position he was in. Pyrrha laughed a little to herself.

"That was much better, Jaune." She said as she walked up and offered him her hand as she pulled Milos from the floor.

"Uh, thanks Pyrrha." Jaune said, taking her hand and letting her pull him to his feat. She pulled him up, and let her fingers linger on his for a moment. Finally she took a step back, taking her stance as she did so. Jaune pulled back from her and took his own stance. Pyrrha felt a little bloom of pride in her chest as she saw how much more confident and solid Jaune looked in his battle stance. Pyrrha smiled, then lunged at her partner.

Blake was tired. She knew she was going to be tired after her venture the previous night, but she hadn't been expecting the bone deep fatigue that had accompanied her all day. She had woken up well. Waking up next to Yang was a great way to start a day, even if it was a monday. The look on Ruby's face was also fairly amusing when she woke the two up. Yang's reaction might have been better.

The blonde had simply leaned over onto Blake and murmured "Nice to see you too," before kissing her partner. Ruby had jumped away screeching "Ewewewewwewewewew." The commotion had woken the ice queen, who hadn't seemed bothered by the couple sleeping together on the top bunk. The white haired heiress had simply rolled her eyes and grabbed Ruby's clothes, putting them in her arms, and sending the shell shocked redhead into the washroom to get ready.

Breakfast, Oobleck's class, and Port's class hadn't been very interesting, and so Blake had found herself continuously coming back to thoughts of the previous night. Her meeting with Adam had bothered her tremendously. Seeing her old partner had shaken her. She hadn't allowed herself to think about it, but in all truth she had missed him. Despite everything that they had done, Adam had always been there with her. She always had him to rely on back in the White Fang. He was the first person he had ever felt like that with. The only other person she felt almost as close to was Yang.

Blake looked at her partner, seated next to her as she ate her lunch. Blake knew she had to tell Yang, but didn't know when or how to. If the two were going to be together, Blake would have to start opening up sooner or later, but it was unnatural to the faunus.

Blake picked away at her food, but didn't really feel like eating. She forced a few bites down her throat, then sat calmly as her team and team JNPR chatted about this and that. Eventually, everyone finished eating and they all left for Goodwitch's class. Blake noted that the entire time, Pyrrha was absent. Remembering their conversation the previous night, Blake hoped the spartan was alright.

Blake took her spot beside Yang and not much later Goodwitch came out and informed them all that they would be training with their partners until the end of the year. Blake looked at Yang and found the other girl already grinning at her. The two made their way to the arena, taking the main stage. Blake's mind emptied as she drew Gambol Shroud as well as its sheath and took her stance across from Yang.

The two looked at each other, trying to gauge who would make the first move, both tense and ready to jump into action. Blake had never fought against Yang before, and was unsure of which of them was better at fighting. Both of them knew the other was a formidable opponent.

They slowly circled each other, before Blake decided to break the tension. Yang was most effective at a close range, so Blake decided to use her variable chain scythe to keep her partner at a distance. She fired Gambol Shroud at Yang, who dodged to the side. Blake fired again and brought the scythe back, chasing Yang around the perimeter of the arena. Yang vaulted over Gambol Shroud as it whipped at her, then charged at Blake.

Blake flipped to the side, bring her weapon back to her as she dodged Yang's first punch. She left a shadow clone in front of Yang as she did a back handspring to give herself time to turn Gambol Shroud back into a sword. Yang hardly gave her a moment's rest, as she fired Ember Celica behind her, throwing her at Blake. Blake brought her sword up just in time to knock away the wristlets, then took another swing with her sheath at Yang's legs. Yang blocked, and the two started trading attacks. The two started whirling back and forth.

Blake leaped and danced around her partner like an acrobat, leaving shadow images behind her as she went, making the assault more confusing for Yang to defend. Blake switched Gambol Shroud back to its whip form, and concentrated on sending the whip to and fro in elegant and deadly sweeping arcs. Yang managed to block almost all of the attacks, but one of Blake's last swings brought the whip up to strike Yang in the shoulder.

Yang staggered back, and Blake closed the distance, unleashing a flurry of blows with her two blades. Yang recovered in time to block the first shot, but Blake was faster than Yang. Blake cut her partner a few times, but was so concentrated on swinging her blades that she missed the fist flying at her until it connected with her side. Blake flew through the air, but flipped and landed gracefully. The blow to her side smarted, but was bearable. Blake was pretty certain that the numerous blows she had managed to land on Yang were causing her no more discomfort than the single punch that the blonde had gotten in.

The two stood facing each other. Yang winked at her partner. The slight reprieve ended as Yang jumped into the air, twisting then firing her wristlets, propelling her at Blake. The faunus only barely managed to roll underneath her partner as the spot where she had just been exploded from the impact of Yang's blow. Blake lunged in, cutting at Yang, who only barely blocked the blow.

The two traded blows for the next fifteen minutes, drawing a small crowd from everyone who was taking a break from fighting. The two hammered into each other, neither going easy on the other. Finally, their movements started slowing as the pair grew tired.

"Okay," Yang panted, her hands on her knees. "Let's just take a break Blake."

"Yeah," Blake sucked in a big breath. "Let's,"

The two managed to make it to their seats before collapsing next to one another. They looked at one another briefly, Yang grinning and Blake smiling. The two watched the other partners facing off against each other. Yang and Blake were obviously some of the more talented fighters in the class, but there were some matches that were pretty intense. Ruby and Weiss, for instance, were fighting extraordinarily hard. Ruby was using her speed to whip around her partner, but Weiss was able to keep away from the speedy redhead thanks to her glyphs. Every once in a while the two would clash in a flurry of blows that only lasted a brief moment before they would break apart.

Blake scanned the room for the more talented fighters. Her eyes rested on Pyrrha, thinking about the previous night. The redhead was hardly being challenged facing off against Jaune, but she actually seemed to be enjoying herself. She was pacing herself slowly, making smooth, rhythmic strikes against her partner, slowly speeding up. Blake was impressed at how much JNPR's leader had improved, and he was holding his own against Pyrrha in her lenient state. He even managed to go on the attack a few times, probably because Pyrrha allowed it. Blake thought that the awkward boy could probably win a match against a few of the others in the class.

Eventually, all of the fighting petered out, Pyrrha and Jaune being the last group to step off the stage. The second they did so, Pyrrha walked away from her partner without a word. Blake noticed Jaune staring after her, his shoulders slouching as he made his way back to his team mates. Team's JNPR and RWBY headed back to their dorms, saying their goodbyes in front of their doors. Jaune, Nora and Ren headed into their room, and Weiss and Ruby headed into RWBY's room. Yang started to follow them, but Blake grabbed her hand, holding her back. When the door clicked shut, Blake released a breath she hadn't realized she'd been holding.

"Let's go for a walk, Yang." There must have been something in her voice, as Yang's eyes immediately softened.

"Okay."

The two walked side by side, their shoulders brushing every once in a while. Blake was trying to work up the courage to confess to Yang, and didn't say a word the whole time. Blake wasn't concentrating, and let her legs take the lead. Before long, she realized that she had come to just outside the gates of Beacon, the same spot she had stood with Adam only a few hours before. She stopped dead. Blake's heart pounded as she remembered the conversation with Adam and all the pain it had brought back to her. Blake reached out and took hold of Yang's hand for comfort. The simple physical contact calmed Blake down a bit.

"What is it Blake?" Yang's usually energetic voice was now soft as she spoke to her partner. Blake looked around for others, but found no one. She took a deep breath, steadying herself.

"Yang, a few days ago I got a letter from the White Fang." Blake felt like an enormous weight had been lifted from her shoulders. "It was from my old partner, Adam Taurus. He asked me to meet him here under threat of exposing me. So I came." Yang remained silent, not pressing for more information. "I talked to him. He wanted me to come back with him to the White Fang, be partners again like old times. I turned him down, but he warned me that the White Fang was coming. They're hunting old associates, people who used to work for them but left. If they find me..." Blake trailed off, allowing Yang to put the pieces together herself.

"If they find you, they'll try to kill you."

"Which means I either have to fight, or run. There's no way I can fight them forever, Yang, they're too big an organization. No matter how many times I won, there would be more of them."

"Are you leaving?" Yang's voice was hollow, as though Blake's word had stripped her of anything making her human. Blake's heart swelled for her partner.

"No, of course not," Blake stepped forward and wrapped her arms around Yang. "I couldn't leave the team, I couldn't leave you. But yang, it doesn't change the facts. I need to find out what the White Fang is up to, and I want your help." Yang let out a sigh of relief and stepped out of the hug, but continued to hold Blake's hands.

"Of course I'll help you Blake. All you ever have to do is ask." Blake smiled at her partner's words. She felt better knowing that Yang would be there every step of the way if Blake asked her. It also eased some of Blake's conflicting emotions about Adam. She didn't like Adam the same way she liked Yang, but he was still one of the two people she had become close with.

"Then let's get our stuff from the room. We need to go to a bookstore."

Blake laughed at Yang's confused look.

**So the sixth chapter comes to an end! The next few chapters may be more focused on Blake's story arc, but I will do my best to keep things moving with Jaune and Pyrrha. Additionally, I apologize for the day I missed updating, and this is standing as a warning that I might not be able to update every day with the current length of chapters. As always, comments, reviews and perspectives are welcome and encouraged. **


	7. Chapter 7

"So, bookstore?" Yang asked for what must have been the millionth time. Blake smirked.

"Yes, a bookstore." The two had returned to the room briefly to tell Weiss and Ruby that they were going on a date, then headed out to a small cafe in Vale.

"Okay, I don't mean to be a buzz kill, but we're at a coffee store." Blake put down the tea that she had bought, looking at her partner with amusement.

"Yes, but across the street is a book store. I wanted to see if there was anything unusual happening before we barged in." Yang looked across the street and saw the glass fronted store filled with books.

"Oh, right." She turned back to Blake. "And is there anything weird happening?"

"Yes,"

"And what might that be?"

"Nothing." Blake could have sworn she saw a flicker of red in Yang's lavender irises. She smirked at that. "Nothing's happened, that's what's odd. Not a single person in or out of the shop."

"And why's this book store important?" Yang asked.

"It's not the store that's important, it's the owner. His name's Tukson. He's an information broker, and he used to be a liaison for the White Fang."

"Used to be?"

"Tukson was of the same mind as me. He didn't like the way things were getting violent. I can't imagine he stayed around with all the Torchwick business happening."

"You knew him well then?" There was an almost sad note in Yang's voice.

"Yes, he was one of my friends when I worked with the White Fang. He liked books. Not many people do when you're dealing with violent extremists. I think he might be able to let me know what's happening." Yang hardly acknowledged Blake's explanation. "Is something wrong, Yang?" Yang looked up sadly at Blake.

"Blake, we're talking about the White Fang. I know there were a few people in the organization that you were close to, but they're still criminals. We can't know Tukson won't turn us in." Blake shook her head at Yang's comment.

"Trust me, Tukson wouldn't. There were two people I felt I could trust in the White Fang. Tukson and Adam." She caught Yang's doubtful look. "If he doesn't play nice, he won't be match for either of us, let alone together. Besides, I used to be one of them, and you trust me, right?" Yang nodded, and the two sat for a while in companionable silence.

"So.." Yang started. "How long do we have to wait."

Blake sighed and stood, Yang following suit. The two crossed the calm street, not many people were driving around near sunset on a monday night. They walked up to the store, and Blake pushed the door gingerly. It swung open, unlocked. Blake had an uneasy feeling in her stomach. There was something off about the store. There was too much dust everywhere, the books coated with a thin layer making them grey.

Blake walked up to the counter in the middle of the store and rung the bell. It wasn't unusual for Tukson to be rummaging around the back of the store doing inventory. She was used to his gruff voice coming from the back room telling her to wait a moment, but today, Blake was greeted only with silence. She slid over the counter and opened the door behind it that lead to Tukson's storage room.

It was empty too. Blake looked around for some sign of where Tukson could be, but she couldn't find a trace of him anywhere.

"Blake, come out here." Yang's voice called from the other room. Blake pushed through the swinging doors again to find Yang crouched over the ground.

"What is it?" Rather than answering, Yang brushed her hand over the floor, removing a layer of grime. Underneath was a dark red stain.

Blake stood stock still, understanding the ramifications of the large blot on the floor. Yang looked up at her sympathetically, but Blake felt hollow. She had felt bad the past few days, but this made everything worse. It had turned into actual bloodshed. It made it worse that she had known Tukson. In her time at the White Fang, there were few people she talked to due to her introverted nature, but she had always been able to discuss books with the burly old shopkeep. Blake knelt down next to the stain on the floor, closing her eyes. It was painful for her to accept what must have happened.

"I'm sorry Blake," Yang's soft voice was comforting, but somewhere deep down, anger was starting to seep into Blake's mind. She didn't like the White Fang's methods, but this was worse. They had actively murdered a faunus, presumably because he wanted out. It didn't bode well for Blake.

"We should go," was all Blake said, her mind storming. She stood and walked out of the store, Yang following. The two walked back towards Yang's motor bike. Blake knew from the dust that it had been a while since Tukson had been murdered, but she didn't want to risk being spotted by the White Fang if they were surveying his store. The less time they spent there, the better.

"Where should we go?" Yang asked as the two got on the bike.

"I guess back to Beacon, I need to figure out where we go from here."

Yang revved the engine, and the bike sped down the road away from Vale and towards the tall towers of Beacon. As they approached, Blake tapped Yang on the shoulder, indicating she wanted to stop. Yang slid the bike sideways, bringing them to an abrupt stop.

"Let's go to Forever Fall, I want to clear my head before heading back to the dorms."

"Alright," Yang replied. They left the bike where it was, then walked towards the edge of the forest. Yang took Blake's hand, and the two stepped gingerly into the falling petals. There was something comforting about the continuous descent of the velvety leaves and flower petals. Yang seemed annoyed as a few settled in her hair, but Blake removed them from her partner's long golden locks.

The two walked deep into the forest, and eventually Blake felt like stopping. The couple climbed a tree and settled on its large branches. Yang leaned up against the trunk, and Blake leaned against Yang. Yang slowly stroked her partner's hair, and Blake sighed happily. It was nice to take a moment to just relax with Yang, the golden haired girl's presence keeping the demons of Blake's mind at bay for a while.

The two rested together until the sun started to set, then headed back to the dorms. Ruby and Weiss were already in bed by the time they got there, and greeted the two. Yang went to the washroom first, getting changed into her tank top and heart dotted pajamas. Blake had always thought they were cute, despite initially being annoyed by Yang when they first met.

Blake went and rested on her bed, trying not to let her worry show. She had denied it when Yang had asked earlier, but after seeing Tukson's shop, Blake had to consider the eventuality that she might have to run. She knew how to fade into the background, and knew how to run if she had to. She didn't want to run though. Not again. She didn't know if she would survive leaving her team and friends behind. Despite acting as if she didn't care, Blake felt like she was made of glass, and she would shatter if she was forced to leave them behind.

Eventually everyone but Blake fell asleep. She sat in her bed for a few hours before rolling over in frustration. She knew she wouldn't get any sleep if she didn't clear her mind, and to that end she made her way to the roof. She hoped the fresh air would help clear her mind.

She sat on the edge of rooftop, her legs dangling over the side of Beacon. She let the cool evening air blow through her hair, enjoying the slight sting of the breeze. She took a deep breath of the cool air, trying to calm her nerves. The icy air in her lungs, however, did little to alleviate her heated thoughts.

She had been thinking about a few things. First off, there was the encounter with Adam. Her old partner's presence had stirred up an unsettling mix of emotions. His message had darkened her thoughts further, the threat of the White Fang putting her on edge. She didn't know which one frightened her more, the re-emergence of a past ally or the new threat of the increasingly violent organization that had once been her family.

Blake growled in frustration. She couldn't get the thoughts to leave her mind, and they just kept circling around her head in a perpetual loop. She kept coming back to one conclusion, but didn't want to really consider it. She thought for what must've been hours, but Blake could only come up with two solutions. Either she had to run, or she had to talk to Adam again.

Pyrrha was contented as the session in Goodwitch's class came to an end. Pyrrha felt like she was finally helping again. She knew his skills weren't polished yet, but with two weeks left and Jaune's instinctual understanding of combat, she was sure he could make it to the fourth round of the tournament with a bit of luck.

Of course, there was still the matter of not being able to be around Jaune through the rest of the day. Pyrrha's heart sunk as she had to walk away from Jaune immediately after they stepped off the arena floor. She headed straight for the exit, hanging out by the door until Goodwitch dismissed the students formally. She made her way to the dorm as quickly as she could. She changed into her normal clothes in favor of her uniform, dropped her books on her bed, and left the room before the others got back.

She headed to the training rooms. Though she had enjoyed her sparring with Jaune, it had been entirely for her partner's benefit, and Pyrrha still had to practice. The heat of battle pumping adrenaline through her veins and the instinctual ferocity of a fight was one of the things that Pyrrha enjoyed most in life, and she was looking forward to the tournament at the end of the year.

Pyrrha set up a few dummies, hacking and slashing away, performing regimented drills that she had long ago perfected. Pyrrha's mind zoned out, focused only on the intricate patterns that she was undergoing with her sword and shield. The first set of targets disintegrated against her professional touch. Having finished with her first set, Pyrrha set up more targets. This time she closed her eyes as she underwent the rigorous pattern. Again, in very little time, she had dismantled the targets. Pyrrha sighed, she simply couldn't challenge herself, she needed something to hit her back.

"An impressive show miss Nikos." Came the smooth sound of Ozpin's voice from behind Pyrrha, snapping her out of her battle haze. She turned to face the headmaster.

"Thank you sir," she replied in her polished voice. "I was just trying to get in a little more practice before the tournament in a few weeks."

"Yes, I figured as much, which is why I am a little confused as to your request to Professor Goodwitch this morning to practice with your partner." The old hunter took a sip from his coffee mug, then smiled at her knowingly. "That is not what brought me here, however. Miss Nikos, last Saturday you came to see me about leaving Beacon. I asked you to return to talk with me Monday morning concerning your decision. You never arrived in my office this morning." Pyrrha's mouth dropped. With all the commotion that had been going on the past few days, she had forgotten entirely about her conversation with Ozpin.

"I'm so sorry sir!" She exclaimed, Ozpin just smiled at her. She didn't try to explain the situation to him. She couldn't explain everything that was happening with Jaune without risking outing his secret.

"It's quite alright Pyrrha, however, I would like to have our conversation. Would you please accompany me to my office?" Pyrrha nodded, sheathing Milos and placing her shield on her back. She hopped up the stairs that lead down to the training floor to join Ozpin. The two walked in silence through the spires of Beacon, Ozpin occasionally taking sips of his coffee. They finally reached the clockwork office, and Ozpin took his seat behind the rather large desk at the back of the room. Pyrrha took a seat opposite him.

"Well miss Nikos, I assume from your request to train with your partner for the remainder of year that you will be staying at my school?" Ozpin cocked an eyebrow at her.

"You are correct sir."

"And the reason for that was you learning of your partner's deadline, correct?"

"Yes, sir."

"Which means that were it not for Jaune's unfortunate position, you would still be intent on leaving this school. This brings me to the real reason I wished to speak with you Pyrrha, which is why."

"Why, what sir?"

"Why would a talented, smart and promising huntress such as yourself wish to leave her school two weeks before the ending of the year. Why would you not simply wait for the year to finish?" Pyrrha's mind raced at the question, knowing what he was getting at. She didn't know how to answer. She lowered her gaze without replying.

"Pyrrha? There is clearly something troubling you, and while I do not wish to press, it is part of my responsibility as headmaster to ensure that my students are well off." Pyrrha could feel Ozpin's eyes studying her. "So, is there anything you would like to tell me?"

"Yes sir, but I can't." Pyrrha met the headmaster's eyes, looking levelly at him. His eyes studied her, and Pyrrha could tell that he was calculating.

"Very well, but Pyrrha, I would like you to come back at the end of the week and tell me if the situation has been resolved. I've seen the look in your eyes too many times to think that it's something you can live with. You will remember this time, won't you?"

"Yes, sir." Pyrrha nodded, then stood. She walked out of the clockwork room and descend the long staircase that lead to the main hallways. From there she walked towards the training room once more. Ozpin's last words, however, lingered with her.

_I've seen that look in your eyes too many times to think that it's something you can live with._

The words kept running through Pyrrha's mind, and she tried to process them. She realized she had been feeling better about Jaune because she had solved the issue of his training. Then her heart started to sink as she realized that the slight victory had done little to help the situation with Jaune. Cardin still had his leverage over Jaune, and Pyrrha still couldn't talk to her partner. That realization hit Pyrrha like a shockwave, and the redhead suddenly felt hollow again.

A feeling she was becoming far too familiar with.

When Jaune and his team got back to the room after class, they found Pyrrha's books on her bed. She had already been and gone by the time the rest of team JNPR returned to the room. Jaune sighed as he looked at her bed. He didn't know why, but somehow he thought after the rooftop and their training today, she might have waited for the team to get back and talked for a while. Jaune finally had his training with his partner back, but his heart still felt like it was being twisted constantly. He didn't know how much longer he could go without talking to Pyrrha.

Jaune hadn't said it to anyone yet, but he missed Pyrrha. It had only been a few days since they had spoken, and yet it felt like an eternity to Jaune. Jaune had never been very good with friends, always a little too awkward for everyone's liking. He always had his family, but when Jaune came to Beacon, he had hoped it would be a chance for him to make some real friends. Despite his blunders the first few days (he did _not _recommend puking on an airship before classes even started), he had found a friend in Ruby, then quickly in Pyrrha.

She had been kind and helpful since he first met her, and the two had quickly become friends. For the first little while, Jaune had gone after Weiss, asking her out a multitude of times, but eventually, as he spent more time with Pyrrha, the ice queen took a back seat in his mind. He didn't even register the icy heiress anymore as anything more than a friend. Every problem he had at Beacon, from making friends to dealing with Cardin, Pyrrha had been there helping him through it.

And now she was gone.

Physically, of course, the redhead was still there. She slept in her bed at night, and she was at all their shared classes, but somehow for all intents and purposes, Pyrrha had become a ghost to Jaune. She cut him out so abruptly, Jaune was still shocked. Every time he thought about her he was hit with a confusing tidal waves of emotion. Jaune was drowning, and the person he would normally look to for help was the one holding him under.

Jaune sighed and flopped down on his own bed. He was considering just rolling over and taking a nap, but remembered Oobleck's extra work and sat up. He pulled his books out of his bag and pulled out his notebook and textbook and opened them to their respective pages. He started to read the pages he had been assigned, making various notes on his paper. Oobleck never checked to see if Jaune did his extra work, but Jaune still felt compelled to finish it. He knew he wasn't doing well in the class, and welcomed the chance to do a little better.

On the other side of the room, Nora was talking away to Ren, who nodded every once in a while as he read a book. Jaune didn't pay attention to what they were talking about, or more accurately what Nora was talking about, but was still relaxed to hear it. It meant that at least half the team was still getting along well. Despite all his stresses, Jaune took comfort in the knowledge that Ren and Nora seemed relatively unaffected by his situation with Pyrrha. Ren had asked about it a few times at the start of the previous weekend, but after that he had let it be. Jaune was thankful for the green clad boy not pushing for information.

Jaune finished his extra readings before dinner, then went out with the remainder of his team to the cafeteria to get some food. As it had been for the past few days, Jaune had little to no appetite as he sat across from Ruby and Weiss for dinner.

"Where are Blake and Yang?" Nora piped up, her mouth half full of food.

"Oh," Ruby answered, "They decided to go on a date. They're in Vale right now."

"You sure that's all they're doing?" Ren asked with a smirk. The pink eyed teen had grown more comfortable over the year, and now seemed happy to tease his friends as much as they teased him.

"Ew, gross Ren." Ruby trembled, squeezing her eyes shut. Everyone else laughed except Jaune.

The dinner continued in a similar fashion, light chatter followed by the occasional joke. It was a lot less lively without Yang there, who normally drove conversations and mercilessly teased her friends. Jaune kind of wished she was there, he could use the distraction of her humor.

"I can't believe it's only monday." Nora said dejectedly, the phrase catching Jaune's ear.

"Yeah, we still have four more days of classes." Ruby said. "Kinda sucks."

"Hey, there's nothing wrong with learning!" Ren interjected.

The conversation quickly devolved into bickering and everyone bugging Ren for enjoying classes. Jaune paid little attention to it, focusing rather on Nora's words. _It was only Monday_. For her it was only Monday, but for Jaune, it was already the first day of the week. It was entirely possible that he would only have one more Monday left at Beacon. His time there was growing increasingly shorter.

Pyrrha's hand rested on the door handle that led to her room. She didn't know why she was pausing, but for some reason she didn't want to re-enter her dorm room yet. She knew that the others were likely sleeping by now, so she wouldn't have to deal with the pain of seeing Jaune. Normally, that's when she would enter the room, but that night Pyrrha doubted she could sleep properly. She didn't feel tired at all, and the thoughts running through her head would keep her up well into the night.

So instead of entering her room, Pyrrha made her way to the rooftop. She had never gone there before without Jaune, but lately, she found herself drawn to the area, as though the rooftop where she had spent so much time with her partner might make her feel like everything was as before. When she opened the door, however, it was not Jaune on the rooftop, but Blake.

The faunus turned around, her legs dangling over the side of the rooftop. Pyrrha walked up beside the dark haired girl and sat next to her.

"Funny seeing you again. " Pyrrha spoke softly, but still politely. "Trouble sleeping?"

"Yes," Blake replied. "Things haven't gotten any better. Maybe even worse."

"I'm sorry." Pyrrha replied. She didn't know what else to say. She knew Blake well enough not to press the issue.

"Things with Jaune any better?" Pyrrha was still taken back slightly by what seemed to be genuine sympathy from Blake. She wasn't used to having sympathy directed at her.

"I guess. I can at least practice with him in Goodwitch's class, but I still miss him." Pyrrha didn't know why she was being so honest. Perhaps it was that she felt a connection with Blake, the two apparently both being in tough situations.

"Were you two more than friends?" The question caught Pyrrha off guard. It was something she had wondered herself before. "Things with Yang are getting tougher, and I just want to know what it's like." Pyrrha's heart surged with sympathy for Blake. The other girl acted tough all the time, but she was more fragile than she let on.

"I... I don't know. I thought that maybe we could be before, but now, even if I can fix it I still don't know if he'd want to be friends with me. I can tell what I've done has hurt him." Pyrrha hugged her knees to her chest. "I don't know what's happening with you Blake, but don't let it come between you and Yang. Nothing's worth that."

The two sat in silence for a while, both caught up in their respective sorrows. Neither spoke a word, simply sitting beside each other. It didn't make her feel any better, but Pyrrha found some measure of comfort in being around someone who knew how she was feeling. Eventually, as the moon passed it's peak and started making it's way towards the horizon, Pyrrha felt herself grow tired. She stood and walked away, leaving Blake to think by herself.

She reached the dorms and switched into her night wear. She got into bed, and looked over at her team leader. The sight of him made her stomach twist, still not sure how she felt about him. Her lids grew heavy as she pushed the thoughts of her leader from her mind. In her exhausted haze, however, she forgot to set her alarm before she slipped into darkness.

"Pyrrha?" The gentle calling of her name floated through Pyrrha's mind, bringing her out of her rest. She kept her eyes shut, not wanting to relinquish her hold on the comforting oblivion of sleep.

"Pyrrha, wake up! It's been a while since you've woken up with the rest of your team, come on!" Pyrrha's eyes shot open at that. _Oh no, _she thought. Her eyes met Jaune's as her leader gently shook her awake. _This can't happen._ _No, no, nonono..._

"Oh," Was all Pyrrha managed to say.

**Hello again! I apologize again for the day break between the last chapter being released and this one, but I think that's how it's going to be from now on. I just don't have enough free time to devote to writing to get out a chapter each day anymore. As always, comments, suggestions and feedback are always welcome! I hope everyone's enjoying the story.**


	8. Chapter 8

Jaune awoke feeling a little drowsy. He immediately perked up, however, when he looked around the room and saw a certain redhead in the bed across from him. He leapt out of bed, and quickly got changed. After getting dressed, he returned to the main room, making sure Pyrrha was still asleep. Confirming that she was still there, he went over and tapped Ren on his shoulder. The pink eyed boy rolled over and nodded at Jaune, showing he was up. Ren was always easy to wake up. Ren opened his mouth to speak, but Jaune quickly put a finger up to his lips, quieting his friend. He tilted his head in Pyrrha's direction, and Ren studied the situation for a moment.

Ren nodded, indicating he understood Jaune's unsaid message, and went over to Nora. Jaune was grateful, as Ren was possibly the only person in the world that could wake Nora up without the excitable girl making enough noise to wake half the dorms. As Ren woke his partner, Jaune walked over to Pyrrha.

He couldn't help but notice the way her soft hair fell over her pale neck and shoulder as she slept contently. He studied her soft lips and delicate features. There was a strand of hair that had fallen across her face in the night, and Jaune had to actively resist the urge to tuck it behind her ear.

"Pyrrha?" He said softly into her ear. She stirred a little at his voice, but remained asleep. He shook her gently, trying to lightly pull her out of her deep sleep. "Pyrrha, wake up! It's been a while since you've woken up with the rest of your team, come on!"

At this, Pyrrha's eyes jumped open to meet Jaune's. He smiled at his partner, but her eyes grew more panicked as she locked eyes with him.

"Oh," Was all she said, but the word hit Jaune hard. It felt like someone had just stabbed him in the heart. He had been hoping for a smile, or a reluctant hello at the least, but the way she said that word, as though it were the worst thing that had ever happened to her, made Jaune feel sick to his stomach.

"What is it Pyrrha?" Jaune managed to choke out after a moment of reeling from what felt like a physical blow.

"I-I..." She stammered, propping herself up on one arm, then swung her legs out of her sheets onto the floor. "I can't Jaune," She locked eyes with him again, and he saw the pain in her deep emerald eyes. "Please,"

"Pyrrha, we're your team. Please, tell us what's happening so we can help." Jaune pleaded with his partner. Before he could register what he was doing, Jaune realized he had stretched his arm out and laid his hand on hers to comfort her. She gasped at the contact, and flipped her hand over to squeeze his own before she quickly drew it away again.

"Jaune, no. I can't. If you want to help me, leave me alone. Don't talk to me, don't say anything to me. Don't come near me. Please, it just hurts me." Her voice had taken on a hollow tone. Which was funny, Jaune remarked, because that's exactly how he felt. Each word that Pyrrha said seemed to strip away a part of him. "I feel sick today. I won't be going to classes." With that, Pyrrha turned away to lay back on her bed, but not before Jaune saw a small streak of moisture drip down her cheek.

Ren, who Jaune had not realized had come up behind him, rested a hand on Jaune's shoulder.

"Perhaps we should go, it seems Pyrrha needs some rest." The green robed teen said to his leader, his voice carrying a stern edge.

Jaune sighed and stood, backing away from Pyrrha's bed. He felt like a gutted fish, his entire system in shock and empty. It was far worse than the gut wrenching pangs of sadness he had been feeling lately.

He left with his team to get some breakfast, but didn't eat a crumb of food. Team RWBY joked with Ren and Nora, but Jaune couldn't even pay attention to what was happening. The world felt tilted, as though everything had been shifted. He had known over the past few days that Pyrrha was having issues that somehow involved him. Everything she had said made it seem like she just needed space, but now she had said that his presence actually hurt her. It was a new level of rejection for Jaune, and it felt worse than anything he had dealt with before. He couldn't handle the thought of her in pain because of his presence.

Jaune thought about talking to his team mates, but he also didn't want them to be caught in the middle. Sighing mentally, Jaune decided to just allow Pyrrha to do what she needed. He would work towards the tournament, and simply try to survive in the mean time. He could sort things out with Pyrrha over time if he was still at Beacon.

_And what if I wasn't at Beacon?_ The thought struck Jaune, stopping him mid step as he and his friends walked towards the first class of the day. Beacon was everything he had ever wanted, a chance to prove himself and help others, to be the hero, but it was all taking a dark turn. Maybe it wouldn't be the worst thing ever if he was expelled. Pyrrha wouldn't have to be near him, so she would probably be better off. He wouldn't have to work so hard any longer, it would probably be very easy to be a farmer compared to a hunter.

Jaune wanted to shake the half formed train of thought that was floating through his mind, but the idea was there. It didn't seem terrible to him either. Other than losing everything he had dreamed of for years along with his friends, it seemed the best situation. Jaune was justifying it every which way, but it really came down to making Pyrrha happy. If he had a chance to make her life better, he had to take it. It wasn't even a choice for him.

As the teachers in their separate classes droned on about things Jaune really didn't care about, he thought about his options. Assuming he worked up the skill to do well at the tournament and had the choice, he had three options. First, he could save his spot at Beacon and ignore Pyrrha, allowing the two to drift apart to the point where they were hardly partners, let alone friends. If she didn't care for him, he couldn't hurt her. Jaune didn't really like that idea. Second, he could potentially find out why Pyrrha was upset. If he could figure out what was wrong, he might be able to help her. He could do well in the tournament, stay at Beacon, and stay close to Pyrrha. That was his favorite option, but also the least likely. Finally, he could drop out of Beacon, forfeiting his place in the tournament. He would likely never see his friends again, but that also meant he couldn't do any more harm to them.

If he could just talk to Pyrrha about it, he might be able to figure out if that would make her happier. Jaune sighed, he didn't know which would be the best option. He continued debating over lunch, through all his classes, then finally into the beginning of Goodwitch's class. He figured he would have plenty of time to mull it over in the class. Having no partner during designated partner sparring match times was an easy way to ensure that you didn't get to fight.

Before Jaune could get too comfortable in the raked seats of the arena, however, the door opened and Pyrrha walked in. Jaune's mind spun. She didn't look like she was sick like she claimed. Jaune had figured she was lying about that, but he still hadn't expected her to show up to any classes after skipping the entire morning and most of the afternoon.

She walked up to him and rapped Milos on his shoulder guard. She smiled and nodded her head to practice circles of the arena. Jaune rose and followed her down into the white lined circle. She took her stance opposite him, and Jaune noticed she hadn't readied her shield. She had done the same thing yesterday, which meant she intended to go on the attack.

Knowing that allowing her to do that hadn't worked, Jaune decided to go for a different ploy. He took up his defensive stance, as he had the previous day, but as she started to dash at him leaping from side to side, he charged.

Jaune saw his partner falter for a brief moment, and pressed his advantage. She had taught him that he could easily use his shield as an offensive weapon, which meant that he had two weapons where Pyrrha had only one. Despite this advantage, he found quickly that it didn't matter. With the two taking aggressive approaches, the battle quickly sped up, and Jaune found he couldn't move his arms any faster. He saw Pyrrha's movements, and saw what he had to do, but simply could not move fast enough to counter her strikes. Pyrrha scored three successive hits on Jaune before the latter decided it would be to his advantage to switch to a defensive stance. Well, it would be better. There wasn't really any advantages over Pyrrha.

Pyrrha beat Jaune down over the course of the next few minutes, with only brief comments from the redhead breaking her assault. As Jaune's aura flashed down into the red, he called the match. Pyrrha nodded to him, then abruptly turned on her heel and stormed out of the room. Jaune's head spun. He always felt a little disheartened after fighting Pyrrha. He didn't really know how he would hold up against another student.

With that in mind, Jaune made his way over to Ren and Nora, who were taking a break. Ren seemed winded, but Nora was still as energetic as ever.

"Hey guys," Jaune said as he sat next to them. They greeted him in kind. "I've got an idea. I want to see where I stand going into the tournament, so I'd like to fight some other people than Pyrrha. How would you feel about doing a team match next class?"

"That sounds like fun!" Nora exclaimed.

"It might be some good practice." Ren agreed. Jaune smiled.

"Alright, I'll go talk to Goodwitch." With that, Jaune headed over to where the Professor stood, watching the fighting with a keen eye. Next to her, Cardin and Russel pushed back and forth against each other. As he approached, her icy gaze switched to him. Goodwitch was definitely their scariest teacher, Jaune thought to himself.

"Hello Mr. Arc," she said in a flat voice. She had never hid that she didn't believe he should be at Beacon. "How are the preparations for the tournament coming?"

"Well I actually wanted to talk to you about that. My team and I want to test ourselves against some other students to see how we'd hold up."

"You would like a team match?" The huntress asked.

"Yes ma'am."

"While I approve of the idea, no other teams have yet shown an interest in a team match. I can't force anyone to fight a team match if they don't want to."

Off to the side, someone cleared his throat. Jaune turned, and saw Cardin Winchester standing there.

"Miss Goodwitch, team CRDL would be happy to volunteer our services in a team match against team JNPR." Goodwitch glared at him as he spoke, or maybe that was just her normal look.

"Very well, Jaune, Cardin, your teams will fight tomorrow during class. You may take the main arena."

"Great! See you then Jauney boy." Cardin grinned at the smaller blonde.

"Uh, yeah, see you tomorrow Cardin." The two parted ways, Cardin heading back to spar with Russel as Jaune returned to his team. Jaune was a little weirded out that Cardin had volunteered, but he was glad the larger boy had. CRDL wasn't the strongest team, and other than the leader himself, Jaune thought he could probably hold his own against any member of their team. He was a little troubled though. Cardin wasn't the type of guy to volunteer his team to a fight to help out another team. Jaune tried not to think too hard about it however, hoping that it was just some brush of luck. Maybe CRDL had something to gain from a team fight as well.

"Team fight with CRDL tomorrow." Jaune announced to his team mates, who nodded back at him.

"Oh!" Nora pipped up. "Can we break their legs?"

"Nora!" Ren chastised.

"Please, no leg breaking tomorrow." Jaune confirmed. Nora shrugged and continued bouncing in her seat.

Classes were over, and Blake was thankful. The noise of the teachers droning on had been nothing but a distraction to her that day. She was already edgy from staying up late for the past few nights, and her mood was worsened by the knowledge that she would have to see Adam again soon.

She had spent the majority of the day thinking about her options, and he seemed like her best lead to figuring out how to get the White Fang to turn away from her. She also knew she couldn't play around with time, Tukson's bookstore proved that the organization had already started hunting down old associates. The second Goodwitch dismissed the students, Blake stormed out of the room. Yang, who she had just finished fighting with, jogged after her.

"Hey, Blake," She called, "What's wrong?" Instead of answering, Blake grabbed her partner's hand and lead her towards the fountain. She hoped there would be few enough people there that she could talk to Yang in private. When she got there, however, there were plenty of students mulling around. Several couples sat on the fountain itself, holding hands or kissing. In lieu of the fountain, Blake guided her partner to the gate. The two exited the campus, Yang protesting every few steps, demanding to know what was going on.

When they were finally alone, Blake turned around and hugged Yang. She just wanted to feel the close, comforting contact of her partner for a second before she unveiled what she was going to do. Yang stopped talking, a very rare occurrence, and hugged her partner back. Yang gently brushed Blake's hair behind her ear, pulling back slightly from the hug. Blake looked up and saw the light lilac eyes of her partner looking back at her.

In a moment of heat, Blake moved forward, pressing their lips together. Yang seemed taken aback, but didn't resist as she pushed back against her partner just as hard. Blake took the lead, pushing Yang up against the large wall that surrounded Beacon. She ran her hands over Yang's shirt. Yang's hands were around Blake's exposed midriff, holding the toned muscle of Blake's sides close. Blake pressed into Yang hard as the kiss became more and more passionate. Yang's tongue probed at Blake's lips, who immediately opened her mouth to meet Yang's tongue with her own. Blake allowed herself to lose herself in the brief moment of passion.

Eventually the two broke apart, gasping from the intense, heated passion. Blake turned, putting her own back against the wall and slid down it. Yang sat down next to her, and the two held hands for a moment.

"We haven't done that for a while." Yang said, eyes shining. Blake laughed.

"Sorry, I've been a bit distracted lately." The words brought the reason why she had come out there with Yang crashing back to Blake. She pulled her hand away and rested it in her lap.

"What is it?" Yang's voice immediately switched from it's previously perky tone to a more serious note. Blake took a deep breath, steadying herself.

"It's Adam." She said, "I have to see him again."

"What?" Yang burst out. "You can't!"

"Yang, I have to. He's the only one who might be able to tell me what's happening at the White Fang."

"Fine, how are we going to find him again." Blake grew silent at Yang's words. She lowered her head, and stared at the ground. "We are going together, right?" Yang pressed.

"Yang," Blake began, searching for the words she needed. "I can't bring you. I want to, but Adam is a little extreme. He won't help me if I come with a human to see him. I'm sorry, but this is something I have to do by myself." Yang didn't answer. Blake reached for her partner's hand, but Yang recoiled from the contact. The two sat in silence for a while.

"I have to do this," Blake pleaded. "It's this or I have to run, Yang. I don't want to leave you." Blake's voice grew soft as she said the last words. She still felt uncomfortable with opening up to Yang. The blonde sighed next to her.

"Alright, do what you have to Blake." Blake immediately sighed in relief. She stood, and reached for Yang's hand to help her partner stand. The two walked back into the campus, Blake feeling resigned to her fate. Yang went back to the dorms while Blake headed to the library. She had to figure out how to get in contact with Adam. Like old times, he had said.

Blake went and sat at one of the screens in the library. She pulled up dust shipment records, her stomach dropping at her own suspicions of what that meant. She went through the logs, and found that there was a train that went by Vale every week. Amongst other shipments, this was the only one that repeated constantly. She checked the dates that it passed through Vale, and her heart dropped. She wasn't ever going to find Adam, but she could get him to come to her.

Blake made a mental note. The train passed through the city every Thursday at midnight, stopping briefly to drop off a shipment of dust. She noted where the drop off was, and which direction it came from, a plan forming in her mind. Despite understanding that it needed to be done, Blake felt a little spark of self hate as she thought about it. With everything she needed, Blake stepped away from the screen and headed back to the dorms. She wasn't going to be able to sleep if she allowed herself to be alone with her thoughts until bedtime. Blake hoped that maybe her team's antics could provide a distraction.

Pyrrha had not enjoyed her day. She hadn't had much time to think, but using the excuse of being sick was a little transparent. She had felt like a trapped animal when Jaune woke her up. She wasn't supposed to talk to him at all, but she had to say something to him to get him to leave her alone.

Eventually she had gotten out of bed before heading down to the practice rooms once more. She spent most of the morning hacking away at targets and performing endless drills. Eventually she tired of it and decided to get some food from the cafeteria. After eating her brunch, she went back to the dorm room to study. She kept an eye on the time, however, and headed to Goodwitch's combat class when the time came. She had spent most of the day thinking about Jaune, and wanted to get her mind off that morning. She hoped that sparring with him might do the job.

Pyrrha felt terrible throughout the training session however, and when Jaune called the match, she gladly left him. She had thought seeing him might help, but it just made her feel worse. She had quickly made her way up to the library, where she was now, her mind split halfway between studying and Jaune.

"Thought I might find you here." Pyrrha's heart dropped as she heard Cardin sit across from her.

"What is it Cardin, I don't really feel like doing this now." Pyrrha stated honestly. She felt exhausted, her brief encounter with Jaune that morning having drained her for the entire day.

"Well I just thought I would give you a heads up about tomorrow, seeming as I doubt your team leader will say anything. Are you two fighting or something?" Pyrrha clenched her jaw, anger shooting through her. She did her best, but couldn't stop her anger from showing a little.

"Tomorrow?" She said dangerously.

"Oh yeah, it seems Jauney boy wants to fight in the tournament, and wants to try his hand against other students. He doesn't seem to want to fight you anymore. Probably also has something to do with your abandonment of him." Cardin chuckled a little to himself. Pyrrha was doing her best to maintain her polite facade, but didn't know how long she could do it.

"I'm sure he's fine," Pyrrha lied to Cardin.

"Oh, I don't think so. And neither are you, but that's not why I'm here. Well, Jaune decided to schedule a team match, but there was no other teams who wanted to fight. Such a shame. Now, yours truly just so happened to overhear, and in a selfless manner, offered his own team to fight against team JNPR. Wasn't that nice of me?"

"So we're going to fight tomorrow. Thanks for letting me know." Pyrrha's voice was almost a growl, her anger seeping into her words.

"Well that's not all, you see. I got thinking about the match, and I thought it offered a great opportunity. I've noticed over the past few months that you, Pyrrha, have remained undefeated in all the matches you've had. Hell, hardly anyone has even been able to touch you. So I thought we had a great chance to help each other." Pyrrha's heart started sinking. She saw where this was going, and it wasn't going to be good.

"Our deal was that I don't talk to Jaune." Pyrrha stated bluntly. Cardin laughed at her.

"Now that's where you're wrong. Our deal is whatever I say it is, unless you want to take everything away from Jaune. He'd never forgive you for that, would he? So I'm adding a new clause to our deal. Tomorrow, in the fight, I'm going to face off against you, and you're not going to lift a finger to defend yourself. Once I'm satisfied that you won't be able to help in the fight anymore, I'll have a little fun with Jauney boy." The large teen grinned at Pyrrha. Rage boiled in her chest. She had never been inclined towards violence, but Pyrrha was sincerely considering beating Cardin down right there.

"I don't have a choice here, do I?" She answered finally, fists clenched.

"No you don't sweetheart. I'll see you tomorrow." Cardin stood and left Pyrrha sitting there. A multitude of emotions swept over her, but they eventually all turned to overwhelming helplessness. There was nothing she could do, and the following day would be a slaughter. She was going to have to stand there and take physical abuse from Cardin, and then once he was done with her, the massive leader of team CRDL was going to repeat his actions with Jaune. Pyrrha laid her head into the crux of her arm and cried.

**I'm sorry for the story having slowed down a bit as of late. There were a few plot points I've been working up to, and those should come out in the next chapter. I slowed things down a little for the past few chapters just to set the character's moods. The next few chapters may have fewer perspective shifts, but should start moving the plot forward a bit more quickly. As always, thanks for reading and any comments, suggestions or feedback is more than Welcome. Hope you're all enjoying it. **


	9. Chapter 9

Jaune woke as he heard the door click shut. Normally, such a small noise wouldn't bother Jaune, as he was generally a deep sleeper. Lately though, Jaune found that his rests were much shallower, barely dipping into the dreamscape of the night.

He rolled over to see what had caused the noise, and was unsurprised to find Pyrrha sneaking into the room. He closed his eyes halfway so she would think he was still asleep. He had awoken to her slipping into the dorm a few times since she first started isolating herself, and it was normally a pretty steady routine. Enter, change in the washroom, get into bed. No noise, no fuss. Pyrrha was careful not to wake the others.

That night, however, Jaune noticed that Pyrrha's face was moist, and her eyes were slightly puffy. She had been crying. Jaune wanted to jump out of bed and hug his partner, comfort her, but she had made it clear that that would not help. It took all his self control, but Jaune stayed stock still as his partner sat on her bed and put her face in her hands. She sobbed lightly, and Jaune had to shut his eyes. He couldn't stand to see her cry, but not being able to do anything about it was worse.

Eventually, Pyrrha got up and got changed. She returned to her bed, but Jaune was pretty sure she didn't fall asleep quickly. Not knowing what else to do, he closed his eyes entirely and tried to get some rest. It took him a long time to fall asleep.

Jaune woke again the next morning to the alarm on his scroll going off. He rolled out of bed and looked around. As usual, Pyrrha was already gone, but Ren and Nora were still sleeping. After changing and showering, he woke the others up. When they were ready, team JNPR, minus one, went to the cafeteria. They met up with team RWBY, and Nora announced their match with team CRDL later that day excitedly.

"... and Jaune and Ren say we can't break their legs-"

"We can't" Ren cut in.

"But I still don't like them. After what they did to Jaune, I mean." At Nora's conclusion, team RWBY shook their heads in amusement.

"I didn't know you would go for a team match, Jaune." Ruby said. "Pyrrha's probably the best person to teach you before the tournament." Jaune's stomach sunk a bit.

"Yeah, but she's also pretty unbeatable. I want to know where I stand against the average competitor." Jaune answered. He remarked it was probably the most he had spoken to anyone for a while. Ruby nodded at his answer, and the conversation quickly changed to the tournament at the end of the year. Everyone seemed excited for it except Jaune and Blake. Blake never seemed excited for anything though, so Jaune didn't really count her.

Breakfast came to an end and everyone grabbed their books and headed towards the first class of the day. Jaune tried to stay engaged throughout the class, but his mind kept drifting to the fight later that day. The same held true for all his morning classes, and by the time lunch came around, Jaune could hardly stay still. For the first time that week, Jaune's mind was entirely occupied with something other than his partner.

He had seen her in all his classes of course, and Ren had gone over to tell her about the match. Jaune saw Ren say a few words to her, she tensed, as though she had just been hit, and sent Ren on his way. Jaune didn't know why Pyrrha was upset about them having a team fight, but he figured she would be fine. She was a celebrity for her fighting abilities, after all.

They headed to Port's class, the second last of the day. Again, Jaune found it difficult to focus and found his mind drifting towards the upcoming fight. For Jaune, it wasn't just a team fight, but it was also a test. If he could hold his own in this fight, it meant he might be good enough to make it through the first few rounds of the tournament and keep his place at Beacon.

He still wasn't sure if he was going to stay, but he at least wanted the option. He still wanted to figure out what was wrong with Pyrrha, but that wouldn't do much good if he couldn't keep his spot at Beacon. If he couldn't figure out how to help her, he knew what he had to do, but he still wanted to save that as a last resort.

The clocked ticked down, and finally, the bell sounded to proceed to the next class. Jaune jumped when it went off, his heart beginning to pump in anticipation and fear. He walked with his team, Nora talking away as always. He knew that his team probably wouldn't feel the same level of importance about the fight as he would, but Jaune still felt like they should take it a bit more seriously.

Everyone filed into the arena, each pair claiming their own circle. Team CRDL was already waiting for team JNPR when the three friends arrived. All they had to do was wait for Pyrrha. The two teams squared off in the main arena, everyone readying their weapons. Jaune unsheathed his sword and drew his shield, Ren let his pistols fall into his hands from his sleeves, and Nora turned her launcher into it's massive hammer form.

After everyone else had begun fighting, Pyrrha walked into the arena. It was weird for her to be late, but in all fairness, everything she had been doing lately was weird. Jaune shook the thought from his head. Pyrrha was his best fighter, and as team leader, it was his job to know how to use her most effectively.

"I've got red," Cardin called from the other edge of the ring, grinning. Jaune had been about to assign Pyrrha to him anyhow. Cardin was the only member of team CRDL that was a severe threat, his huge mace was liable to be a match for anyone. He nodded to Pyrrha, who looked down at her feet. Jaune registered briefly that she hadn't drawn Milos yet.

"Nora, take Dove, and Ren, you take care of Sky. I'll match off with Russel." Jaune said. He was confident that his team mates would be able to take care of their respective charges, and he didn't feel that it was necessary to involve team coordinated attack to best CRDL. All that remained was for him to face off with Russel. If he could best the other teen, they would have no issues winning the fight.

And Jaune would have his first real victory before going into the tournament.

Everyone took their stances, moving to be across from their respective opponents. Russel had drawn his two daggers. From Pyrrha's lessons Jaune decided being offensive was the best idea. His sword was longer than those daggers, so if he could keep Russel out of his guard, then he should be at an advantage. The two teams circled, getting closer to one another, no one wanting to be the first to make a move.

"Now!" Jaune shouted as he lunged towards Russel. A split second later, Ren and Nora leapt forward as well. Pyrrha did nothing, still not having drawn her sword yet. Jaune registered it a moment too late as he crashed into Russel with his shield. He pushed the other student away from him, giving himself space to work with. He saw Cardin step forward out of the corner of his eye, and turned his head just in time to see Cardin sweep his massive mace into her side without her so much as sidestepping. Pyrrha was sent hurtling across the room, grunting in pain as she fell to the floor.

"Pyrrha!" Jaune cried out, his heart constricting as if someone were squeezing it. He received a sharp hit to the inside of his arm for his distraction, and was forced to turn back to Russel as his opponent spun around, swinging his daggers at Jaune's face. Jaune had to dive to the side to avoid the blades, coming up with his shield between him and his adversary.

He glanced over and saw Cardin calmly walking towards Pyrrha, who was holding her stomach with one arm as she struggled to her hands and knees with the other. The massive leader of team CRDL raised his mace once more, preparing to swing and Pyrrha. Anger swept over Jaune, and he lashed out violently at Russel, who was forced to back away. With Russel no longer an immediate threat, Jaune sprinted towards Cardin, who was about to bring his mace down on Jaune's defenseless partner. Jaune leaped and tackled the larger teen, then rolled backwards, putting himself between Cardin and Pyrrha.

"You don't touch her," Jaune spat venomously. There was some protective part of him that was flaring up that he hadn't really felt before. Cardin started to laugh, and Jaune realized his mistake. While Dove and Sky were losing a battle against Ren and Nora, the other two members of CRDL were advancing on Jaune. Jaune knew he would struggle to win against just one of them, and against two, he had no chance. Nonetheless, Jaune took his stance defiantly, switching to a more defensive position. He was all that stood between them and Pyrrha.

It didn't matter what he felt he could do, he _had_ to stop them from getting to Pyrrha. He didn't know what was happening to his partner, but she still hadn't risen from the floor, and Jaune could hear her coughing behind him. A quick look at his scroll showed that Ren and Nora were doing well, neither having lost much of their aura's, but Pyrrha's was close to halfway gone. He glanced back and saw her cough up a little bit of blood. Jaune's temper flared as he turned back to his adversaries.

Russel leapt at Jaune, his daggers drawn back, ready to strike. Jaune met the attack with his shield, and was about to return with a strike of his own when he caught Cardin's mace swinging towards him in the corner of his vision. Jaune twisted, barely managing to raise his sword in time to parry the brutal mace swinging towards him. Now entirely off stance, Jaune was forced to dive forward to avoid Russel's next swing going towards his legs. He rolled and spun, now only a foot or so in front of Pyrrha.

In a second the two were on him again, but this time Jaune had no space to give. Russel came in with a quick flurry of blows. The quick strikes occupied Jaunes attention, but he managed to cut out at his opponent, parrying with his shield then scoring a hard hit to the teen's chest. Cardin swung down down at Jaune hard, though, and Jaune was forced to reach up over his head with his shield to block the strike. He didn't have time to deflect the blow, and felt something in his shoulder give as the full force of the blow landed on him. He cried out, but kicked at Cardin's legs, hitting the larger teen in the knee, forcing him to back off.

The encounter had lasted no longer than a few seconds, but Jaune was worried. He had fended them off, but he didn't know how long he would last before the others would overpower him. Jaune tried to raise his shield and ready himself for the next attack, but his arm wouldn't move. Jaune cursed, and quickly ripped the shield off his limp arm. It would just be deadweight.

Cardin and Russel looked at each other, grinning at Jaune's plight. The two moved to either side of him, taking their time, Russel on the right and Cardin on the left. Jaune would've backed away or rushed one of them normally, but he couldn't move. He had to stay between them and Pyrrha. Russel attacked first again, coming at Jaune quickly. Jaune parried the blades, but couldn't get a hit off as he had to turn to deflect another blow from Cardin's massive weapon. Russel didn't give him any pause, however, and Jaune felt a his aura straining to protect his arm. He got his sword back in time to parry Russel's second hit, but had to duck under a swing from Cardin before he could get a shot off. He had to land a hit soon, or he wouldn't be able to hold them off for much longer.

Jaune turned as if he was going to parry Russel again, but at the last second, turned away and swung at Cardin. He felt two sharp blades hit his back, but Jaune ignored them, letting his aura protect him. He drove all his force into his swing at Cardin. His sword connected with his adversary's side, sending the larger boy stumbling. Jaune felt another slash at his side, however, and was forced to turn back to Russel with an arcing swing. The other member of team CRDL caught Jaune's sword in his cross guards, the two pressing against one another. It was futile, though, as Jaune only had one arm and was already weaker than Russel. He felt himself being pushed back, and dropped to kick out at Russel's legs. He swept Russel's legs out from under him, causing the other boy to fall onto his side.

As Jaune rose, however, he felt a massive blow land on his back from Cardin and fell to his knees. His ears rung from the force of the impact, and before he could recover, another hard swing sent him sliding across the floor like a rag doll.

"Jaune!" Somewhere behind the ringing haze that filled Jaune's mind, he heard Pyrrha call out. He managed to roll over, just in time to see Cardin turn around and kick Pyrrha in the stomach. His heart twisted as Pyrrha gasped in pain. Rage filled Jaune, and he put his arms on the ground to try to push himself up. His shoulder, however, gave out, and Jaune fell to the floor. He reached out with his sword hand and started dragging himself towards Cardin. Jaune wasn't thinking anymore, his entire world had narrowed to one point of burning rage. Cardin.

He was hurting Pyrrha, and Jaune was going to hurt him.

"Russel," Cardin barked, but Jaune didn't hear it. "Hold her."

Cardin grinned at Jaune and walked towards the leader of team JNPR. Jaune raised his sword as Cardin approached, but the other teen kicked his hand, sending the sword flying. Cardin leaned down and grabbed Jaune by his shirt, then knelt on Jaune's shoulder. A jolt of fiery pain whipped through Jaune, and he cried out. His vision dimmed for a moment, consumed by pain. When his vision returned, Cardin was kneeling on him. Over Cardin's shoulder, Jaune could see Russel standing over Pyrrha, his knives at the ready should she try to move.

"Hey Jauney boy!" Cardin grinned down at Jaune. "I guess you're not feeling to good right now, are ya? That's alright. That's all fine and good." Cardin stood up, bringing Jaune with him. The larger boy was grinning the entire time, but Jaune wasn't paying attention. He was just looking over him at Pyrrha, wanting her to move, wanting her to be alright. Cardin followed his gaze. "Oh right, your girlfriend should be fine. In pain and all, but nothing permanent. Why do you still care anyway? From what I hear, you two haven't really been on a talking basis lately. How's that been? I'll tell you what, from what she's said to me, she's enjoying it. Not having the class idiot following her around like a lost dog." Cardin laughed a little to himself at this, but his voice was venemous. Jaune's mind started whirring, clicking, finally putting the pieces together. Despite the cloudy state of his mind, one thing was becoming absolutely clear.

Whatever was happening to Pyrrha, it was Cardin doing it.

A surge of adrenaline coursed through Jaune's system, and he kicked out at the side of Cardin's leg. Cardin didn't collapse, but his grip loosened as he stumbled a little. Jaune knocked Cardin's arms away and lunged for his sword a few feet away. Cardin tripped him as he ran by, but Jaune managed to dive and scoop up his fallen weapon. Ignoring Cardin for the moment, Jaune stood and charged at Russel. Russel readied his daggers, but Jaune didn't care about weapons anymore. He crashed into his opponent, and felt the daggers press against his stomach, only his last vestiges of aura keeping them from skewering him.

Jaune pushed Russel away from Pyrrha and lashed out with his sword. Russel got caught by the end of the blade as he tried to dodge, knocking him to the side. As he fell though, Russel threw one of his daggers at Jaune. Jaune jerked to the side, but couldn't move his left arm as the dagger hit it. Jaune's aura finally gave out, the dagger slicing a large cut in his useless arm. He felt pain shoot up his arm, but ignored it.

"Mr. Arc!" He heard somebody shout, but he wasn't listening to that voice.

He heard Cardin charging him from behind, and turned just in time to get his sword up to parry Cardin's overhead swing. The power of his strike forced Jaune to one knee. Jaune had no room to maneuver. Pyrrha was just behind him, and there was no way he was letting Cardin hit her again. The large leader of team Cardinal put his weight behind his mace, forcing Jaune to slowly sink down further. In one last desperate ploy, Jaune dropped his sword, diving to the side as Cardin's mace crashed down beside him. Jaune came up in a crouch and saw Cardin low and off balance, having followed his mace down. Seeing his chance, Jaune sprang, knocking Cardin to the ground. The two rolled, and Jaune came out on top. He raise his fist and brought it down as hard as he could into Cardin's face, managing to not be blocked by Cardin's aura. He slammed his face into CRDL's leader over and over, letting all his rage and anger out. Jaune didn't get in more than two or three punches though before Cardin grabbed his shoulder and Jaune keeled over in uncontrollable pain.

Cardin stood over him as he writhed on the ground, and brought his foot down on Jaune's shoulder. The world flashed for a moment as Jaune fought to not scream. Cardin offered a reprieve, however, when he brought his foot down on Jaune's head. With no aura to protect him, Jaune's world faded to black.

Glynda hadn't been paying particular attention to any single fight, but her eyes kept falling back to Ruby Rose fighting against Weiss Schnee. She had been skeptical of Ozpin offering her a spot at Beacon. She had been moved up two years, and those two years of training were paramount in most huntresses careers. She was pleasantly surprised, however, to find that the younger girl seemed to be doing just fine at Beacon. She knew Ozpin had a questionable past, but he had never been wrong in her experience with him. Ruby Rose was a testament to that.

Her scroll beeped at her, interrupting her thoughts. She looked down in alarm as she saw Jaune Arc's aura flash down to nothing. Not red, when most fights stopped, but nothing. She looked up at the team fight in the central arena. Ren was fighting Sky, the two locked in combat that was clearly one sided. Ren was not the most skilled fighter in her class, but he made up for his lack of skill with impressive aura manipulation and calm, levelheaded tactics. She had a great respect for that. Nora was fighting Dove, and again it seemed one sided. Dove was dodging desperately, trying to avoid Magnhild. The boy was doing a decent job, but eventually one of those blows would connect and it would be over.

The other side of the fight, however, seemed drastically different. Jaune Arc was standing in front of Pyrrha Nikos, who seemed to be trying to get to her knees, obviously in pain. One of Jaune's arms hung uselessly. Russel Thrush had been thrown to the side, but he didn't seem badly hurt. He could still fight if need be. Jaune, however, looked like he was a dead man walking. His limp arm had a deep cut along the side, and he didn't seem able to properly, seemingly dazed from previous injuries.

"Mr Arc!" She shouted, frustrated that he would continue to fight despite having no aura. If he were to get hit now, he could very well end up dead. She moved to bring her riding crop up, reading herself to send the opposing teams to opposite sides of the rings. Before she could fully raise it, however, she felt a hand rest on her shoulder. She looked back to see Ozpin behind her.

"Wait a moment," was all he said. Glynda turned back to the fight, itching to do something but restraining herself due to Ozpin's words. Jaune was now on one knee, and Cardin was above him, pressing down onto the boy with all his weight. Glynda didn't know why the boy had caught the blow on his blade. It would have been easier to dodge to the side, but the she realized why.

_It's Pyrrha. Jaune won't let Cardin get near her. He's protecting her._

Jaune dropped his sword, and Cardin fell with his mace as it was dropped to the ground. Jaune whipped around and tackled the larger boy, hitting Cardin in the face. He managed to hit Cardin three times before the larger boy grabbed his shoulder, forcing him to the ground. Carding stood, and finished the fight with two quick kicks, one to Jaune's limp shoulder, the other to his face.

"Now," Ozpin said beside her, lifting his hand. Glynda raised her riding crop immediately, and purple restraints appeared around all the members of the fight. The two teams were sent back to their respective sides, other than Jaune. She didn't need to move him, as he was already quite unconscious. She strutted up to the arena and knelt beside the unconscious boy.

Ozpin sat with his coffee in hand as he waited patiently in a chair beside the infirmary bed where Jaune Arc rested. He had been there for some time. When he had arrived, a few minutes after Jaune had been wheeled into the room, he had politely asked all of the young leader's friends to leave. He would notify them when Jaune woke.

He hadn't kept track of time, and eventually Jaune stirred in the bed next to him. Ozpin stood and looked down at Jaune. He had been accepted at Beacon due to his excellent transcripts, but Ozpin had been doubtful of them. When the boy arrived, he had been a blundering mess. He hardly knew how to wield a sword, and wouldn't have been able to best the lowliest of the Grimm. Despite all this, Ozpin saw potential in the boy. He had a mind for tactics, and since his time there with Pyrrha, he had begun to develop into a fine hunter. Due to his lack of training to that point, Ozpin doubted Jaune would ever be the best fighter, but the young man possessed something far more important. A pure heart.

He was glad that he had gone to watch that match. Since his recent encounters with Pyrrha, he had grown concerned for her. He wanted to ensure that she wasn't suffering in any of her classes due to her recent issues. He had been right in his assumptions. Pyrrha hadn't even lifted a hand to defend herself. On top of which, she had been putting her team at risk. Mr. Arc had taken the extra heat willingly. He made a mental note to remind Ms. Nikos of this selfless act.

"Hello Mr. Arc." Ozpin spoke softly, trying to draw Jaune out of his unconsciousness.

Jaune looked around a little, finally opening his eyes, which settled on Ozpin. "Pyrrha. Is she alright?" Ozpin was a little taken aback at his question. The first thing he said when he got up was her name. Interesting.

"She's fine Jaune, a little bruising. Cardin had dusted his shoes with dust, so she might be in some pain, but she's going to be alright." At that, Jaune relaxed.

"Sorry sir, why are you here?" The young hunter in training asked.

"That was quite the fight you put up in there, Jaune." Ozpin commented quite sincerely. He didn't miss Jaune's eyes dropping, and his fists clenching.

"Not good enough." Jaune said through clenched teeth. So his memory was working at least.

"Mr. Arc, I saw a fair amount of the match. Miss Nikos did little to help in the fight, and as a leader should, you took it upon yourself to protect her. You pitted yourself against two strong fighters to help a member of your team. I am in fact impressed that you managed to hold out as long as you did." Jaune looked up at Ozpin, and Ozpin saw the self deprecation in Jaune's blue eyes.

"Thank you, sir." Was all the boy said. Ozpin sighed internally, studying his pupil. He hadn't liked the idea of putting Jaune on probation, but he had to prove to Glynda that he had not made a mistake. On top of which, he had to prove it to himself. He saw great potential in Jaune Arc, but he also saw that Jaune didn't feel confident in himself, which could stop the boy from reaching his potential. The boy's eyes were telling Ozpin that Jaune still felt uncomfortable with his abilities, and hated himself for not being able to best Cardin and Russel.

"Jaune, you can never save everyone. There is no hunter alive who hasn't been bested. You've got the merits of a great hunter, you just have to trust yourself to realize them." Ozpin suspected there was more than the deadline of the tournament pressing on Jaune's shoulders. He was rarely wrong. "And one last thing, Mr. Arc."

"Yes sir?"

"You willingly threw yourself into a fight you couldn't win to protect her. Never forget why you did it." The young blonde's face grew red, but he didn't answer. Ozpin nodded to him. He truly hoped the boy would heed his words.

"Rest well. I get the feeling you will need to be at your best in the coming time." Ozpin said. He took a sip of his coffee, then stood and walked out the door.

**So.. that got a bit more intense than I planned. Anyways, I know that that chapter only had Jaune/Pyrrha moments in it, but I promise there's a big chapter for Blake coming up! Hope you're all enjoying, and as always, any feedback, constructive criticism or comments are all appreciated.**


	10. Chapter 10

Pyrrha waited outside Jaune's room with everyone else. She wanted so badly to go into his room and hold his hand until he awoke to her smiling gently down at him. She knew, however, that it was impossible. She was taking a risk even being outside his room, she could hardly go inside with Jaune. In addition, Ozpin was in there. It seemed the headmaster wished to have a few words with Jaune before the others saw him. She buried her face in her hands as a wave of guilt washed over her.

Jaune was hurting because of her, because she couldn't fix everything, because she hadn't been able to defend herself.

She knew she couldn't have fought in the match. If she had, she would have condemned Jaune to expulsion. Pyrrha had felt more than willing to take the physical abuse from Cardin, but she hadn't counted on Jaune abandoning his own post to try to protect her. In part, she was thankful. As it turned out, Cardin had put Dust on his boots before the fight. He knew she would offer no resistance, and had taken the opportunity to cause as much damage as possible. When he had kicked her in the stomach, the dust had slipped through the gaps in her armor to her bare skin, where it burned like a fire. It had felt like a thousand hot pokers burning into her side.

The pain had been incredible, and Pyrrha had been relieved when Jaune had first tackled Cardin. Then she had to watch everything. Jaune standing defiantly for her as she fought the pain on the ground, doing nothing to help. His shoulder collapsing in what must have been an incredibly painful manner, seeing Jaune thrown across the room by a direct hit from Cardin's mace, the knives cutting into him. Then, when all was said and done, two kicks; one to the shoulder and one to the face.

As she recalled the recent events, Pyrrha's stomach started twisting. Her heart felt like it had been wrenched to and fro, and the maelstrom of guilt, regret and fear made Pyrrha feel like puking. She was on the verge of tears again, something she had never experienced until recently. She was tired of waiting. She needed to know if Jaune was alright. She didn't know if she would ever forgive herself if there was permanent damage. She didn't know if she would ever forgive herself anyways.

After an eternity of waiting, the doorknob twisted, making the slightest of sounds. Pyrrha leapt to her feet startled, as though the sound had scared her, and everyone looked at her oddly. Ren and Nora were sitting together across from Pyrrha, beside team RWBY. The other members of team JNPR hadn't spoken a word to Pyrrha, having witnessed her doing nothing in the fight. They were probably severely angered by her inaction, and they were right to hate her. Team RWBY hadn't seen what had happened, but had cast the occasional worried glance at her as Ren and Nora explained in hushed tones what had been happening lately.

Ozpin opened the smooth wooden door and closed it behind him. He was carrying his cane as well as his customary cup of coffee. He didn't seem worried or upset, but when he came out of the room, he gave Pyrrha a hard look. It lasted only a moment, however, before he turned his attention back to everyone else. Pyrrha didn't miss the meaning of that look. What had happened to Jaune was her fault, and the headmaster of Beacon knew it.

"Jaune is awake, and doing fairly well. It should be fine if you would like to visit him. But be gentle, he has just been through a fairly trying day." Relief swept through Pyrrha at the news of Jaune's wellbeing, but was crushed quickly again by the knowledge that he wouldn't be there if it weren't for her. Everyone stood at his words, obviously eager to see if their friend was alright. Other than Weiss, who was apparently there because she was made to be by her team. Pyrrha was certain that Weiss was friends with Jaune, she just still felt awkward about his advances earlier that year.

"Thank you, sir." Blake said, making eye contact with the headmaster, who nodded back at her. Ozpin stepped to the side and everyone filed into the room, but Pyrrha held back. She knew she couldn't go to visit him, but not being able to comfort him now was extraordinarily difficult for Pyrrha. Her caring nature compelled her to help, and the fact that everything was her fault was weighing on her shoulders. She felt that if she could at least help him through the pain, it might make up for what she had done. As it were, though, she could not. The door clicked as Nora entered last, snapping Pyrrha from her thoughts.

"Pyrrha," Ozpin said, his voice soft but guarded. Pyrrha's stomach sank as she met his hard gaze. "Please accompany me to my office."

Pyrrha simply nodded in acknowledgement. Without further ado, the headmaster walked out of the small infirmary wing back towards the main tower of Beacon, Pyrrha trailing behind him. She tried to walk as she did normally, tall and confident but without pride, but was unsure if she was being successful. Her thoughts were elsewhere, consumed with guilt. They climbed the stairs that led to the clockwork room, neither speaking a word. Everything would be said in due time, Pyrrha figured.

Finally, they reached the now familiar clockwork room that served as Ozpin's office. Pyrrha didn't like the room very much. She had never seen it in person before recent events, and as such, her memories of the otherwise beautiful room were tainted with guilt and uncertainty. Ozpin took his seat in front of the large glass panel of the far wall, and Pyrrha stood across from her, clasping her hands in front of her. At his indication, Pyrrha took a seat.

"It would seem you have something to explain to me, Pyrrha. I saw the entirety of what was intended as a friendly training sessions between teams. Instead, I saw a team member jeopardize her entire team by not even lifting a hand to help herself. A team member who is likely only still able to stand because her leader took it upon himself to take her place, fighting two people instead of one." Pyrrha found her eyes fixing on the knots of the wood in front of her rather than the gaze of her headmaster. His words were causing her guts to twist in self disgust. Ozpin was silent for a while, likely studying her. Pyrrha had never had issues meeting someone's eyes before, but now, she couldn't bear to even raise her gaze from the desk.

"Pyrrha, though it was Jaune's duty as a leader to save his team mate, he should not have had to. It is becoming evident that there is something happening, and I would like to know, Pyrrha, do you have anything to tell me?" She finally worked up the courage to look up and meet his gaze. Rather than the anger and resent she was expecting, Ozpin's face was held nothing but sorrow. The old man looked tired she thought.

"Sir," She began, but struggled to find the rest of the words she needed. Ozpin waited patiently as Pyrrha tried to find the right way to express herself. "The issues at hand are sensitive," Pyrrha's voice felt hollow, almost mechanical. "And though I would like to help you to understand them, I cannot discuss these matters with you without the consent of others. Others which at the moment, I may not discuss anything with. This is creating a paradoxical lock, and leaves me no way to discuss with you the issues."

She finished her polished explanation, but she could tell from Ozpin's face that he didn't care for it. His eyes flickered over her, studying her. He took a sip from his coffee, then the two sat for a minute. Finally Ozpin spoke.

"Very well. I understand that perhaps your loyalty forces you to not speak directly about these issues. I cannot punish you for such an admirable quality. However, I cannot allow you to continue with how you have been recently. So I will ask you something simple. Could you define your relationship with Mr. Arc?"

The question silenced Pyrrha's mind. She had no idea how to answer. Were they nothing but partner's now, people who must work together at times. Were they still friends? Pyrrha doubted Jaune would consider her a friend after her cold attitude towards him recently and after landing him in the infirmary. She would have told Ozpin even a week ago that Jaune was the closest person to her, and she was certain it was the same for him. Something akin to best friends, but not quite the same. Perhaps even closer. Now though, she felt there was only one honest answer.

"All we can be right now is two students that attend the same school." Pyrrha said, her insides turning cold as she said it. She hadn't acknowledged the fact to herself before, and now having said it aloud, the realization of it seemed to freeze her heart.

"Is that so?" Ozpin said, but his voice was somewhat detached, as though he were speaking more to himself than Pyrrha. Ozpin seemed to refocus on her though. "Now just think of Jaune. Who he is to you, who you ever hoped he would be, and everything he has been."

Pyrrha's mind wandered back to the adorable goof she had come to care so much for over the year. The memories of them sparring together, Jaune joking around with her, and the two staying up late studying together (or more so Jaune studying while Pyrrha helped him study), emphasized the bond that had been growing since they had met. Finally Pyrrha's thoughts came to the last night they had spent together. After sparring on the rooftop, they had gone back to the dorm and Pyrrha had aided Jaune in his project on the Grimm for professor Port. She remembered him making her laugh lightly, and the close proximity the two shared as the night wore on, Pyrrha allowing her chair to slide closer to Jaune's until their shoulders were touching as they worked together. The memory of his close proximity sparked a warm feeling in her chest that blossomed. For the first time in almost a week, Pyrrha felt truly happy.

"You don't just want him to be a peer, do you?" Ozpin's words were absolutely accurate for Pyrrha. She didn't want Jaune to be just a peer at all, in fact she didn't want to share any bond with him that was unlike what she had before.

"No sir," She answered honestly.

"Pyrrha," Ozpin's voice was warmer now, "Mr. Arc threw himself into a fight that he couldn't possibly win without a second thought. He knew it would cause him significant harm, but didn't caret. It was immediate, almost instinctual. He did this for you. He couldn't stand to see you be hurt, and fought better than he ever has before in worse circumstances because he needed to protect you. There is little, I'd imagine, that he would not do for you, Pyrrha. Keep this in mind, and I'd suggest you reevaluate your relationship as simply peers with him. I won't pretend to know what's happening, but I have made many mistakes Pyrrha. There are some things you do that you believe to be right, but you will regret forever. Do not allow this to be one of them."

Jaune watched Ozpin step out of the room. His conversation with the headmaster had left him wondering. _Never forget why you did it._ He didn't really know why he had done it. Pyrrha had been hurt, and he hadn't even thought, he just acted. Jaune wanted to ask the headmaster what he had meant, but Ozpin was already gone.

Jaune's wandering thoughts were cut short, however, when the door opened once more, Ruby charging in and giving him a hug. Jaune returned it gratefully with his good arm, but looked over Ruby's shoulder. There was one person he wanted to see entering the room more than anyone else, but Pyrrha didn't seem to be there to visit. Ren, Nora, Ruby, Yang, Blake and even Weiss (who he was still sure didn't like him) had shown up, but not Pyrrha. Jaune was hurt. He thought that she would at least see how he was, check up on him. Maybe it was unreasonable, she had seemed pretty cold toward him lately, but Jaune had still hoped.

"How ya feelin' Jaune?" Yang asked in a less than cheery voice. Jaune was taken aback slightly. She was normally the epitome of happiness and optimism. He noticed that Yang and Blake were standing at opposite in the rooms. Fighting maybe? The thought saddened Jaune. His issues with Pyrrha were bad, and he didn't want other people to go through anything like that.

"I'm doing okay I guess. Shoulder hurts a lot, and I feel like I've got a worse headache than you after a weekend, but otherwise I'm good." The group laughed at the joke, Yang crossing her arms and giving him a jokingly mad look. Jaune made his greetings with everyone, assuring Nora that he would be fine, and settled comfortably into the regular conversation. Despite being extremely pleased that he had this many friends who cared enough to be around when he woke up, there was something nagging at Jaune.

He thought Pyrrha would be there. She was his closest friend, up until recently, and he wanted her there. It was selfish maybe, but he found her presence very comforting, and after what had just happened with team CRDL, Jaune could use some reassurance. His greatest fear had always been that he wouldn't be strong enough to defend those he cared for, and he had proved this true in his fight. Sure, there were two of them, but Jaune still should have been good enough to win. Eventually the small talk died down, and Ren asked the question that Jaune had been avoiding.

"Jaune, what happened? Nora and I saw a bit of it, but we were also fighting ourselves. Why didn't Pyrrha fight, and why did you go up against Cardin and Russel alone?" Jaune cast his gaze away from his friends. He liked them all and trusted them, but he didn't want to tell them how Pyrrha had done nothing.

"I guess Cardin got a lucky hit in right away and hurt her badly enough she couldn't fight." Jaune lied, avoiding the second part of the question. It reminded him too much of his conversation with his mysterious headmaster. Several members of the group gave him doubtful looks, unconvinced by his words, but Ruby leapt to his defense.

"Hey guys, let's not grill Jaune right now. He needs some time to recover! By the way, good job! From what I hear you took on two opponents by yourself and did pretty well. It's a good indication for the tournament!" Jaune still hadn't told most of his friends about his entrance to the tournament, but Ruby must have let it slip as everyone gave reassuring nods. Jaune, however, felt his gut twist. He had still lost, and he wasn't confident in his abilities in the tournament. None of them understood how important the tournament was, and Jaune wasn't about to tell. It felt somewhat personal and difficult to talk about. He would tell Pyrrha, but without talking to her, he didn't want to confide in the others.

"Thanks Ruby," Jaune replied meekly. His doubt was obvious in his voice.

"Hey, perk up Jaune!" Yang interjected, "What's the worst that can happen? Even if you lose in the second round, it'll still be great for you! You've gotten a lot better this year."

Yang's words were like a sucker punch, and Jaune recoiled as if he had just been hit. She couldn't possibly know how terror inspiring her words were to him. Jaune knew he wouldn't win, but a second round placement would not be enough.

"Hey, thanks for visiting everyone, but I think I need some rest." Jaune said weakly. Everyone gave him worried glances, and Yang was about to say something. Ruby grabbed her sister's arm and pulled her towards the door. Weiss, Nora and Ren followed suit, leaving only Blake in the room.

"Take it from someone who knows," She began, her voice nothing more than a dark whisper, "Don't leave the ones you care for in the dark. You'll push them away and hurt them. I know theres something more Jaune, but don't be afraid to talk." With that she twirled gracefully and shut the door softly behind her, leaving Jaune alone in the overly quiet room with nothing but his thoughts. And he had a lot to think about.

Blake shut the door behind her. She hoped Jaune would listen to her words. She was afraid that she was doing the exact same thing she had warned him against to Yang. Blake knew she had to go alone that night, but felt a little guilty leaving her girlfriend behind. The only way she could justify it was that, if the mission didn't, Adam might well kill her partner if Blake brought Yang along. A Yang that didn't care for Blake infinitely better than no Yang.

Yang had been fairly open about what was happening, but Blake hadn't missed the cut off sentences, the pauses in conversations, and worst of all, the worried looks. The tension between them was growing, and Blake didn't know if it was going to break.

Blake pushed the thoughts to the back of her head. She had more important things to deal with right now. There was the matter of the train that night, and she had to be certain she would be ready. Seeing Adam last time had shaken her badly, and Blake wanted to make sure that his presence wouldn't affect her judgment this time.

Teams RWBY and JNPR (or what was left of it anyhow) headed back to the dorms, and Blake reached out to take Yang's hand. Normally, Blake didn't like showing her bond with Yang in public, but right now she needed her partner's comforting presence. She squeezed Yang's hand, but received nothing in return. Yang walked on looking straight ahead, and after a moment, Blake let her hand drop away. Yang obviously didn't want to talk right now.

The group reached the dorms, but no one planned to stay there for long. A few minutes to hang out, then out for dinner. Maybe some studying after, then early to bed. There was still school tomorrow, after all. Weiss, Ruby and Yang chatted, the latter talking flatly. Blake opted out of the conversation, not wanting to spark anything with Yang. She needed to talk to her partner sometime.

The time came for them to get dinner, and everyone went to the cafeteria together. They all sat in their usual spots, and Blake couldn't help but notice how sad it was that half of team JNPR was missing. The two teams were close, and having two members of their group away in addition to the growing tension between Blake and Yang made for an uneasy atmosphere. There was little chat that night. Everyone grabbed their favorite foods in comfort except for Blake. She felt guilty, and punished herself by eating chicken instead of tuna. There was no way she was going to allow herself the slightest luxury while she was stressing things with Yang.

The meal ended quickly, and the six of them returned to the rooms. Ruby and Weiss studied together, the Ice Queen helping the younger girl a fair amount. After the first few months of name calling and outbursts, the two had become good friends, and Weiss was more than willing to help Ruby in her studies. The young huntress in training had missed two years of base knowledge, and had struggled for a while after coming to Beacon. With Weiss' help though, the two were now on fairly similar levels, and helped each other, correcting mistakes and discussing complex problems.

Yang for her part was lying down on her bunk above Blake's, blasting loud music. The blonde girl wasn't studying and definitely wasn't talking. Without her partner to talk to, Blake had little choice but to open her books and try to study a little. Utilizing her well practiced ability to distance herself from situations, Blake managed to actually finish a good amount of work. She read and copied notes to avoid thinking about that night. She didn't know if it was a good thing that she could do that.

Eventually though, her study session came to an end as Ruby announced lights out. Blake was forced to lie still in her bed as she waited for everyone to fall asleep. Ruby and Weiss' respective breathing quickly became consistent and long, indicating sleep. Ruby even snored a little. Blake had issues listening to Yang's breathing though, the music still blaring. Eventually, Blake had no choice but to try to make her move if she was going to reach the train tracks in time.

She slid silently out of her bed, grabbing Gambol Shroud from the floor next to her bed as she stood. Sneaking was second nature to Blake now, and it was a skill that hadn't left her since she enrolled at Beacon to escape the White Fang. She made her way to the door without making any noise whatsoever. She doubted even another faunus could have heard her. She slipped into the hallway, content that even if Yang was awake, she would have been hard pressed to take notice of Blake leaving.

Blake jogged through the hallways, her legs moving with practiced ease. She could run or sprint without making any more noise than if she were walking. In addition, her time migrating every day in the White Fang had given her a nearly unparalleled base of endurance. She made her way through the halls and eventually outside.

She allowed her mind to wander as she lost herself in the repetitive beats of her soft foot falls. Blake made her way to the main gates of Beacon, which were locked that night for whatever reason. Without a pause, Blake leapt up the tall iron bars that made up the gate, and within moments was on the other side, running again. She had around an hour to make it about halfway between Beacon and Vale, where the train would be traveling on its way to the midnight stop. The tracks ran through ForeverFall, and Blake decided to travel by leaping between the trees. She didn't want to take the risk of running into a pack of Grimm on her way.

The shattered moon above her shone brightly, and Blake was reminded of a night not that long ago where she had run along a similar path with the same destination of a train in mind. The memory sent a shot of guilt through her, but Blake pushed it away. She couldn't afford to be emotional right now.

Blake was so focused on running that she didn't see the massive white and black form that was draped between the trees, and Blake had to leapt to the side to avoid the Grimm she had noticed too late. Catching herself on a branch, she whipped around to look at the beast.

Easily sixty feet long, the beast in front of her was a King Tijitu. It was draped over a series of trees, its two heads lying on top of each other in rest. Fortunately, Blake had been quiet enough that it hadn't stirred, but she cursed herself. She needed to be more careful. She didn't want to fight a Grimm right now, and could ill afford to lose time on it. Backing slowly away from the beast, Blake tentatively turned then continued her path through the forest. Finally, she found her way to the tracks.

Blake looked up and down, relieved to see no fresh marks on the tracks that would indicate the train had passed through. If the train came by as it was supposed to, Blake would have another quarter hour to wait before it would pass by her. She climbed until she was on a branch than lay directly above the tracks, and waited.

It was not long, perhaps five minutes, before Blake heard the slight metallic grinding of the wheels on the tracks. Standing, she waited for the train, which she could vaguely see in the distance, to approach. She took a deep breath, steeling herself for what was to come.

The first cart passed underneath Blake, and she dropped so she was hanging from the branch from her arms. She quickly studied the train rushing beneath her, working out the tempo of the passing carts. After a few seconds, Blake figured it out and dropped, landing on one of the speeding train compartments.

She took a moment to steady herself, then walked over to the trap door that lead into the compartment. She cut the latch on it, but didn't drop in immediately. Instead, she stuck her head inside and looked around. Last time she had been on a train cart, there had been a bunch of drones on board with her, and Blake would prefer to avoid combat if possible. She had always been more inclined towards stealth, though she was also more than proficient at fighting.

Satisfied that this train was obviously not important enough to guard with drones, Blake dropped into the train car. There was likely a few human personnel on board, randomly roving from car to car, but Blake was confident she could deal with them. People were easy to fool.

She walked over to the dust containers and looked around. There wasn't much dust there, but she found what she needed. She grabbed a few small containers full of fire dust and one crystal. Blake walked back to underneath the trap door and fired Gambol Shroud, using her variable chain scythe to swing herself back up onto the roof. Keeping her weapon imbedded in the roof, Blake tied the other end around her waist, then walked to the side of the car. With her weapon in one hand and the dust in the other, she slowly rappelled over the side of the train.

Over the next few minutes, Blake carefully sprinkled the dust onto the side of the train, taking care to keep the dust confined to the exact areas she intended. After much diligent work on her part, Blake was finally satisfied. She hopped up the side of the train with Gambol Shroud.

"Hey!" Someone shouted. Blake looked over, panicked, and saw someone standing on the rooftop of the cart ahead of her. Security guard. Blake chastised herself for not being more careful coming back up onto the roof. She saw the guard go for his gun.

At this point, Blake had two options. Either she could fire at the guard, or she could finish the job quickly and jump into the forest before he had time to do anything. Blake knew she wouldn't be able to shoot. She had left the White Fang because they harmed innocents, and though this man was threatening her, he had done nothing wrong. In fact, he was just doing his job. In lieu of this, then, Blake quickly threw the crystal off the side of the train and shot it with Gambol shroud. The crystal exploded, igniting the dust that Blake had so precariously worked to perfect. The fire roared up on Blake's side of the car, and she knew she would have to run to the opposite side to make it. Blake started sprinting, sheathing Gambol Shroud as she ran.

Blake thought she was going to make it. She took the last two steps and leapt away from the train, just as she heard the loud crack of a gun to the side. A blast of fiery pain shot up Blake's side as the dust-laced bullet hit her torso and she crashed into the ground, rolling. Blake muffled her scream with her forearm as the pain hit, and the world slowly faded to black, and the faunus collapsed.

A few minutes later, a train pulled into the station, as it was scheduled to, every week, at the midnight between wednesday and thursday. This train's arrival, however, was anything but normal. Four words, accompanied by three angled slash marks, were burning on the side of this train. An unknown antagonist had dusted the side of the train, and those four words burned all the way through the hull to the dust reserves inside, igniting everything. The resulting fire sent a hauntingly lit message through the holes created an eerie fire show.

_For old time's sake._

**Hello again everyone, and sincere apologies for the late update. With school starting up, my schedule got very hectic for a while. To start to make up for it, this chapter was a little longer than most. I'll be doing my best to upload regularly, however, it may take me some time to regulate my schedule and figure out exactly how many days there will be between releases. In other news, I'm thinking there might be a Yang POV in the next chapter, which will be heavily Blake based. I would also like to say a big thank you to everyone who has commented, followed or favourited this story. I started writing this for fun, and never expected it to reach over 40 000 words! All due to everyone's support. Big thanks to all you awesome people! As always, I hope you enjoy the latest chapter, and any comments, criticism or thoughts are greatly appreciated!**


	11. Chapter 11

The world around Blake came into fuzzy focus as she momentarily regained consciousness. She had to get away from the tracks. That was her first priority. She strained to stretch her arm in front of her, then tried to pull herself forward. She pushed with her legs, but didn't seem to have much strength in her anymore. She fought through the pain, but only managed to make it a few feet before the pain became too much, and Blake passed once more into the void.

The world was still black, but she could hear the slight crunch of footsteps on gravel. Someone coming her way. Panic shot through Blake. If it was the authorities and they found her, it would all be over. She would be locked away, never to see Beacon again, never see Yang again. She rolled onto her side, and desperately dragged herself towards the tree line, away from the footsteps that were approaching too quickly. She heard the newcomer kneel down beside her, and opened her eyes. She could vaguely see a tall outline, but couldn't focus enough to see the face.

"It's going to be alright Blake," The voice said soothingly, familiarly. For some reason, that voice calmed Blake, but her panic stricken mind wouldn't allow herself to focus.

"No, no, please..." She tried to form a coherent thought, make this person go away. Somewhere behind the stranger, there were two people calling to each other. The fuzzy person in front of her looked over his shoulder, than back to her.

"We have to go, now." Blake tried to struggle as the figure leaned forward and picked her up, but the effort only caused her to moan weakly in pain and pass out again.

Stars. They were lovely, Blake thought to herself. She was bouncing slightly, staring up at the sky as though someone was walking with her held in his arms. The world immediately around her seemed distant and fuzzy, but the stars were clear pinpricks of light splayed across the darkness of the sky. She had loved the stars her whole life, and sighed contentedly.

"Beautiful, aren't they?" The stranger who was carrying her said softly. "I remember you loved them. You used to spend hours gazing up at them whenever you were upset."

Blake tried to look at whoever had spoken the words, but whoever it was wore a mask. A Grimm mask. For some reason, that struck Blake as oddly familiar. She didn't like that mask either. It was too cruel and twisted for the person that lay behind it, who hid who he truly was behind another mask. Hate and anger. She wondered why she was thinking that, and turned her attention back to the stars. It wasn't long before Blake drifted out of consciousness once more.

Yang lay in her bed, listening to the loud noise coming out of her headphones. Normally she wasn't much of a music person unless it was at parties, but tonight she needed a distraction of some sort. Ever since the previous thursday, Blake had been acting weirdly. It had started with her faunus partner making out with her, which Yang hadn't minded in the least. The heated session of groping and kissing had been quite nice, actually, but it had been weird. Blake never skipped class to do stuff like that, and Yang should have questioned it more. Next, Blake had gotten very moody and antisocial, which wasn't weird, but it was worse than normal. Finally she had confided in Yang that the White Fang were hunting down ex-associates like her, and the two had gone to visit a bookstore together.

That was when the real troubles started for them. Before it was just a bit of angst, but when they found Tukson's blood on the floor, Blake had freaked out. Blake freaking out was different then most people. Yang had noticed her girlfriend got very quiet, but to the point of being scary quiet, not contemplatively quiet. They had returned to Beacon shortly thereafter, and that's when Blake told her that she was going to see her old partner from the White Fang, and that Yang couldn't come.

Yang didn't know the relationship between the two, but she felt there was more than just business between the two. Blake was very guarded on the topic, and that meant there was something more. Yang knew that Blake had to do this, but she felt jealous and hurt that Blake didn't want her to come along. They were supposed to be partners, and on top of that they had a relationship, and Yang expected a certain level of confidence between the two.

She didn't want to, but Yang was starting to get very upset with her girlfriend. If things didn't work out soon, Yang didn't know if they could stay together with that level of stress. Yang resolved to talk to Blake about it when the faunus returned from her night out. She shut off her music and rolled over, trying to get some sleep. She was worried about Blake out there, alone, though, and it took Yang a long time to fall asleep.

"Yaaaaaaaang," Ruby's whine broke through Yang's uneasy sleep. Yang groaned, rolling over and meeting her little sister's eyes. "Come on sleepy! Time to get some food then ace some tests in class!"

"We don't have any tests today." Weiss interjected from across the room, already dressed and showered.

"Oh," Ruby said, momentarily dejected, but brightened immediately. "Well then we can just do some awesome studying." Ruby's voice slowly got softer and slower as she realized what she was saying. Yang laughed lightly at her sister's antics.

"C'mon Rubes, let's get ready." Yang said, hopping down from her bunk. When Yang looked around the room, she froze, her heart seizing.

"Good idea Yang, Blake's probably already in the cafeteria having food. She must've gotten up really early today."

Yang stared at the bed underneath her own that belonged to Blake, her mind reeling. Blake hadn't returned from her night's exploits.

_I have do do this, It's this or I have to run, Yang._

Yang had not forgotten her partner's words, and a fear worse than anything Yang had ever felt before surged through her system. What it Blake had decided to run? What if, while she was out, Blake had decided her desire to run was bigger than her desire to be with Yang.

Yang's throat constricted, and she had to close her eyes and breath deeply to stop herself from crying. Yang normally covered her feelings in a cloud of jokes and teasing, but she couldn't bring herself to summon her normal easygoing demeanor.

"Sis?" Ruby questioned, interrupting Yang's whirlwind of emotion.

"Uh, what?"

"You gonna get ready?" Yang blinked before realizing she was the only one not dressed yet.

"Oh, uh, yeah. You two go ahead, I'll catch up."

Weiss and Ruby left the dorm, and Yang went into the shower. She let the hot water run over her smooth, toned body. Normally, the hot water would carry Yang's worries away, but today, her fears stuck to her like a pungent odor. Almost ripping the door off its hinges, Yang stepped out of the shower when she was done. She caught a look of herself in the mirror, and saw the tips of her hair flickering, half caught on fire.

She leaned over and gripped the sink, clenching her fists around it. She squeezed as she breathed deeply. Yang was overwhelmed with worry. If Blake hadn't run, then that meant she was hurt and needed Yang. Yang wasn't sure which was worse. Breathing deeply, she did her best to calm herself.

Hoping to distract herself, Yang changed quickly and pulled out her scroll, checking the newsfeed. She clicked on the first story, something about trains, hoping she could distract herself. She wasn't normally a news person though. As Yang read, however, she grew angrier and more worried.

_Late last night, a train arrived in station as it was normally scheduled. Midnight between wednesday and thursday, however, when the train arrived, workers were shocked to fine one of the cars aflame. Upon conducting interviews with crew members, it was found that one of the security guards aboard the train had caught a lone unidentified person atop that same cart. Upon attempting to apprehend the subject, described as a female dressed in dark clothes (though due to the darkness, the employee of the Schnee dust company was unable to ascertain any facial features), she threw a dust crystal over the side of the train and shot it. The dust explosion caused dust, apparently planted there by the unknown vandal, to ignite and burn its way into the dust storage containers inside the cart. The criminal attempted to flee the scene, jumping from the side of the train, but in a show of extreme talent, the guard managed to shoot the fleeing criminal midair. Local authorities have been trying to find traces of this criminal, but after following a trail of blood, they were dumbfounded as any traces seemed to simply vanish. Current suspicions are that the criminal dragged herself for a while, then was attacked by a Grimm, perhaps a King Tajitu, who ate her, removing all traces. When the attacked train reached its destination, the criminal's message became blatantly clear. Illuminated by the burning fire inside the cart, the words "For old time's sake," accompanied by the three slash marks associated with the White Fang, had been burned through the hull. Authorities believe the outlawed criminal organization is somehow connected to the attack, though the message continues to dumbfound them. Police are asking the general public to please notify them if anyone has any leads on who this mysterious criminal might be._

Yang's heart was in her throat by the time she finished reading, having paused mid-step. Anger, betrayal and fear coursed through her as she read the report, knowing that it must be Blake who had done that to the train. Yang was shocked. She knew that Blake had done some intense things when she worked with the White Fang, but Yang had never thought her girlfriend would turn to such a dark measure, and for what? So that she could talk to someone from her past again? Yang was certain she knew what the message meant. It was a tie between her past with Adam and her present. She had avoided the question of how she would find Adam, but this must be it. To make it even worse, she had attacked a train transporting dust for the Schnee dust company. Was her relationship with her team so insignificant that Blake would willingly go and attack a train belonging to Weiss' father's company?

More pressing and worrying, though, was the word of the security guard. He had shot Blake, and the police had followed a trail of blood into the forest. Blake was injured for sure, and maybe worse. Yang's stomach twisted in fear for her partner. She had to go. Yang sent a quick message to Ruby, something about her feeling sick, then sprinted through the hallways towards the gates of Beacon. As she ran, she checked her scroll, working out the train's path. She stopped to pick up her motorcycle, then proceeded to rev the engine, gunning it out of the school towards the train tracks.

"Good morning, Blake." The voice was soothing and warm, though Blake instinctually knew that it could turn to a bitter snap in a moment. She knew that voice too well to mistake it. She rolled over from what appeared to be a makeshift bed of moss and faced who she knew she would find.

Adam.

"Hi..." She replied hesitantly, trying to maintain the aloof, disinterested tone that normally came so easily to her. She propped herself up onto her arm, but cried out as pain tore down her side. In an instant, Adam was beside her, supporting her side.

"Hold on, Blake. You've been shot." Adam put a hand over her side where the pain was coming from, supporting the rest of her body with his other arm. He laid her gently back down onto the mossy bed. "You're alright, there you go." He smiled at her as she did her best not to show her pain.

"So you saw the train?" Blake asked, already knowing the answer. Adam nodded.

"Not much happens in Vale without the White Fang hearing about it soon. Maybe five minutes after it arrived in station, I heard the news. 'For old time's sake," I knew it was you. Then I overheard a guard talking to a reporter about how he had shot someone. I came to find you right away. Lucky too, police were only a few minutes behind." As he talked, he moved to the side, unveiling a burning fire that warmed Blake. She was thankful for the heat.

She lifted her head up to exam her side. It didn't look promising. It was a small wound in her side, the bullet having gone all the way through. It was close enough to the edge of her body that it had only hit her oblique muscles, but it had shredded those. The slightest tensing of her sides sent pain shooting through her body. Even with her aura and proper care, it would take at least a day until she could move on her own again.

"Not even a thank you?" Adam teased, showing a side of himself Blake had only seen when they were alone.

"My hero," Blake replied in a dry, sarcastic tone. Adam smirked at her. He drew a pack from his back and opened it up.

"How about some food for the damsel in distress?" Blake would have hit Adam if she could move, but as it were, she smiled weakly at his joke. Even Yang would have gotten a cutting glare from Blake, but she didn't feel like fighting it right now. Being around Adam was easy, natural.

"What've you got?" Blake was only now realizing how hungry she was, and that her throat was parched. Blake nearly passed out in excitement when Adam pulled out a bottle of milk and a can of tuna.

"Just the essentials." He said, giving her a cocky grin. Blake's ears twitched in anticipation. Adam caught the movement and paused. He set the milk and tuna down then bent forward slowly, raising one hand to her face.

"Wha-" Blake began, but allowed her old partner to extend his hand. He reached up to the top of her head and pulled on her bow. The strip of black ribbon came away, uncovering Blake's cat ears.

"Much better," Adam said, satisfied. The movement had been light and caring, and it left Blake feeling a little confused and flushed. He picked up the milk and tuna again and set them beside Blake. "Here you go."

Blake gratefully accepted the food with her good arm, opening the tuna and savoring the scent. She thought it was unlikely that anyone but her appreciated tuna as much as it deserved. The fish was an absolute delicacy. She bent the tin lid into a crescent and used it as a spoon, enjoying each bite immensely. All too soon, it was gone, and Blake washed it down with milk. Adam stayed silent the entire time, not feeling it necessary to fill the silence with idle banter. It was one of the reasons they got along so well.

When she finished, Blake pushed herself so she was leaning on her good side, looking into the fire. It wasn't a particularly nice day, overcast and threatening to rain, but the fire provided all the warmth she needed.

"I take it you went to Tukson after I gave you the news, yes? That's why you're here?" Adam said after the two had enjoyed a companionable silence. Blake sighed. She knew she had to get to business soon enough, but she had been enjoying the familiar feel of the setting.

"Of course, I had to know if it was true. I believed you, but-"

"You had to see for yourself. I know." Adam poked the fire with a stick, rearranging the logs. Blake sighed as a fresh wave of heat washed over her.

"It's bad, isn't it?" She asked.

"They were trying to abandon their brotherhood. They had made promises to better the lives of the faunus, but when it came time to show their loyalty, they left." Adam's voice turned darker than the clouds in the sky. Blake moved back a little, and couldn't help but feel as though it was her fault that Adam felt so strongly about this.

"Maybe they were just unwilling to hurt innocent people and team up with a group of human criminals." Blake said softly, referring to Torchwick. Adam looked at her, and she sensed anger, sadness, loathing and despair from him. That worried her. Adam had always been very straight forward in his views. One emotion at a time. He was an idealist, but he was consistent. An Adam that wasn't sure what he felt was dangerous, but Blake grabbed onto it. If there was a chance that she could get Adam out, she had to take it.

"Maybe," He replied, his voice growing stony, "But nevertheless, what has been done is done. You got my attention, what do you want?" Blake was a little shocked, and her ears twitched again. He had been so warm and caring a moment ago, and in an instant he had become as emotional as a statue.

"I need your help, Adam." Blake said, trying not to sound as desperate as she felt. "I can't leave Beacon. You're working with the White Fang, there has to be something you can do."

"And why would I? You know I want you to come back, Blake. It would be a conflict of interests for me to help you stay away." Adam shielded himself well, but his words betrayed his care for her. Blake phrased her next few words carefully.

"As I said, for old time's sake. Adam, if they come after me, I won't have a choice. I'll have to run, and this time you'll never find me again. I'll never come back to the White Fang, and it'd be pushing me further away if they started hunting me. If you help me stay, though, you know where I am. Maybe we can even go for tea some time." The last part was a joke, but Blake hoped it would be enough to spark a bit of hope inside Adam. He smirked at her, and that worried Blake. He did that when he had an idea he knew she wouldn't like.

"Alright, but I need something in return."

"Anything," Blake answered immediately. If there was a chance she could evade the White Fang, she would sacrifice just about anything.

"Tomorrow night, there's some business I have to deal with. Since you left, I've been working alone. It would be nice to have a partner again."

Yang was steaming. Literally. Her hair was heating up to the point of almost igniting, and it was raining, so Yang was steaming. She found it fitting that her physical state matched her mood. She was utterly furious, but worried beyond imagining. From Beacon, she had made her way to the train tracks, following the route she would take if she was in Blake's position. Finally hitting the tracks, she had left her bike and proceeded on foot. She scanned the ground for any sign of disturbance that would have resulted from Blake hitting the ground, but couldn't find anything. To make things worse, the fresh rain could easily be washing away the last traces of Blake.

Yang reached her breaking point, worry, fear and anger boiling up inside her. The torrent of rage rushed through her, and Yang brought her fists down on the ground in frustration, sending bits of train track flying through the air. The wood and steel clattered around her, and Yang felt no better for her outburst. She was getting tired, wet, cold and hungry. On top of being miserable, she was no closer to finding her girlfriend.

Yang walked over to the forest and plopped herself down on a stump by the railway. She was taking heaving breaths, half to regain her composure and half to stop herself from sobbing. She couldn't lose Blake. After everything she had endured with her partner and friend, the two were too close to be separated like this. Yang didn't even know if Blake was alive. Yang's gut wrenched at the thought and she gagged, barely holding down vomit.

_Focus_, Yang reprimanded herself mentally. She had to think. The report had said that there had been a trail of blood, then nothing. Blake didn't have much ability to heal herself with her aura, so Yang doubted she had stood up and walked away. The only explanation was someone had picked her up... Probably. So even if Yang couldn't find the trail of Blake from the train tracks, maybe she could find something in the forest.

Another thought popped into Yang's head. Something she should have thought of earlier. Blake had been on the train, and so had been moving a lot faster than Yang was. Yang hadn't covered more than a few kilometers of ground in her search, which might have only taken a minute or two on the train. Cursing herself, Yang ran back to her bike. She was wasting time, and she didn't know if Blake had any of that left.

She roared down the tracks until she was no more than a few hundred meters from the station. She decided that any closer would have been too close for Blake, and Yang could backtrack from there. After about an hour of searching, Yang found a slight imprint in the gravel surrounding the train tracks. Upon closer inspection, there was blood on some of the rocks. The rain had washed most of it away, but a few sheltered rocks had a few flecks of the crimson liquid on them. Yang felt both excited and fearful at the discovery.

The police had been unable to follow the trail past the forest edge, but the police weren't some of the most promising huntresses in training in the world, a title Yang held. It would've been midnight when Blake came through here, which Yang knew from Port's class (despite her best efforts to not be interested) meant the Grimm would be active. The safest bet for anyone traveling through the forest would be the trees. The police probably hadn't even thought to check. Yang probably wouldn't have if she hadn't seen Blake climbing nimbly through them a few times when they visited Forever Fall together.

Climbing into the trees, struggling a little, Yang found what she was looking for. It wasn't much more than a few broken twigs and branches, but it was there. It was a trial. Yang was impressed. Whoever had been carrying Blake was obviously capable, and she doubted there would be any trail if they hadn't been carrying a body. As it were, however, Yang was able to follow the trail for a half hour into the forest, where it promptly disappeared. Thinking time again.

Well, the trail had been lost the first time from switching from floor to canopy, why not again? Yang's reasoning held true once again, finding the trail once more. However, this time, after only a few minutes, the trail went cold.

_No! _Yang thought desperately. She couldn't lose the trail again. She climbed a few trees nearby, but found nothing. She spent the next hour tearing apart the area around the end of the trail, her anger growing once more. She could feel drops of water evaporating as they hit her hair, sending sizzling drops of heated water all around her. The world was taking on a red tint as Yang demolished her surroundings. At some point, it stopped being a search and started to become destruction, Yang hitting anything that came near her in hopes that breaking a few things would make her feel better.

Dropping to her knees, unfruitful in her search for either a trail or comfort in breaking things, Yang clenched her jaw. Yang hadn't cried since she was a little kid and she had started being Ruby's older sister, but she was seriously close now. The thought of losing Blake was just too much to bear.

Looking up at the sky, thinking of shouting at whatever deities might exist for their injustice, something caught her eye. Not far away, she could see a little trail of smoke drifting into the sky. It couldn't be more than fifteen minutes away, and Yang immediately stood, dusting herself off. Once she had removed the dirt from her hair, Yang sped off towards the source of the smoke, fueled at this point by nothing but desperation.

She found herself skirting around the edge of a clearing, looking in on a quaint little camp sight. There was a fire burning, which must have been very hot to keep going in the rain, and next to it someone had constructed a lean to. Beside that lean to, there was a log, upon which a dark silhouette sat. The stranger was male, dressed in a long overcoat and wearing a mask of some sort. Yang also thought she saw horns in his hair, but couldn't be sure. She was more interested in the long blade sheathed at his side. Even resting, the stranger had a hand on the hilt.

Yang forced herself to look away from the stranger towards the lean to. A rush of relief flooded Yang, and she nearly collapsed in joy at what she saw. Obviously still alive and breathing, Blake lay in the lean to, sleeping contently. Yang paused for a moment, taking in the sight of her partner, safe and secure. Whoever the stranger was, he had taken good care of Blake.

Yang stepped into the clearing, and the man sitting on the log cocked his head. Yang approached nonetheless, and after a few steps, the man whirled around to face her. His long-tailed coat flitted slightly from the movement, but otherwise, he was stock still. He was gripping the hilt of his sword with one hand, the other on the sheath. Yang had no doubt he could unsheathe and attack faster than her eyes could see.

"Who are you?" He asked, his voice low and dangerous.

"I'm here for her." Yang replied inclining her head towards Blake.

"Then you had best leave. She's under my protection." It suddenly registered for Yang. This must be Adam, Blake's old partner. It explained his protective disposition, and he seemed to fit what little descriptions Yang had heard of him.

"I'm not here to hurt her, Adam," He cocked his head to the side at the mention of his name. "I'm here to help her. Bring her home." Adam smirked cockily at that.

"Well, I don't think our dear old Miss Belladonna is going home anytime soon." The words cut at Yang, but she refused to believe them. There was no way Blake would abandon everything at Beacon for her old life. "If you'd like, you can talk to her." Adam stepped to the side, releasing his hold on his sword, holding his arm out towards the makeshift shelter that housed Blake.

Yang approached gingerly, not wanting to disturb her partner's rest quite yet. She knelt down next to Blake, examining her partner. Other than being a bit paler than usual, Blake seemed fine for the most part. Yang's eyes drifted down her partner's body, and her heart sank at what she saw. A bullet had torn through Blake's side, leaving a bloody hole. Someone, likely Adam, had put gauze around the wound, but there was a lot of blood. Yang gently shook her partner's shoulder, trying to wake her.

"Blake," The soft call pulled at Blake, drawing her from her sleep. She moaned in protest, but slowly allowed her amber eyes to open. Standing over her, lightly shaking her shoulder, was Yang. Blake's mind filled with confusion. _What's she doing here? _Blake wondered. A thousand questions washed through her, but they were cut off when Yang brought her in for a tight hug.

"Yang?" Blake mumbled into her partner's shoulder, relieved that she was here but still extraordinarily confused. Yang pulled away, and Blake looked up into her partner's lilac eyes. She found comfort there, but Yang was obviously tense. "What are you doing here?" Yang's expression quickly changed from relief to hurt.

"I'm here to bring you back to Beacon. After you snuck out last night I was worried, and this morning I read an article. It said you had been shot. I had to find you. Come on, let's get you back to Beacon and all patched up." Yang's voice changed from sad to her usual optimistic tone as she talked. Blake looked down, not being able to meet her partner's eyes.

"I can't go back, not right now Yang." Everything was silent for a moment, only the rain making the slightest noise.

"Blake, you have to," Yang said eventually, her voice pleading. "Beacon's your home. You have a team there. You have me. You can't give all that up."

"I'm not, Yang. This is chance to fix everyth-"

"And how are you going to do that?" Yang cut in, the tips of her hair flickering and her voice rising. "Working with the White Fang? Destroying dust from the company to which your friend is an heiress? What's wrong with you, Blake? There has to be another way. We can figure it out back home. Now c'mon." Blake could see the agitation in her partner's face. Yang was sincerely pissed off right now.

"I won't," Blake replied, knowing how much her words must have hurt Yang. "I do one thing for them, then I'm free. That's all. Then I can come back to Beacon and everything will be the same." Yang was silent for a moment, but Blake knew she wasn't calming down.

"No," Was all the blonde said.

"No?"

"No. If you do this, work with those terrorists again, nothing will be the same. Do what you want, but when you get back it won't be the same. You won't have me."

With that Yang jumped up and stormed off into the rain, past Adam. By the time she reached the forest, Blake was sure she could see a flaming inferno streaming behind the girl. Blake's heart sank, and she felt terrible again. She had to do this though. She just couldn't get over the simple fact that had been presented to her. She had lost Yang.

**Well another long chapter! So this was a Blake's arc only chapter, but the next one will have some Jaune/Pyrrha moments, I promise. Other than that, there may be one more Blake only chapter soon (She has a big night coming up). Any other chapters should be split between the two story arcs from now on though. As always, comments, suggestions and feedback is very welcome. Hope you're all enjoying!**


	12. Chapter 12

Jaune woke with a start, sweat beading down his forehead. He looked around, scanning his surroundings. He had to assure himself that this was real. Not what he had just woken up from.

He hadn't been sleeping well lately, but this was his first full blown nightmare, and it was terrible. He had watched, unable to move, as Cardin laughed and slowly beat Pyrrha until she didn't move. Pyrrha hadn't done anything to stop it, and Jaune couldn't move, his every muscle straining to save her. He couldn't though. Just like he hadn't been able to in the arena.

Jaune took in the white room he was in. He lay on a simple cot, a bandage around one of his arms and his other in a sling. He started remembering, the fight, darkness, then waking up here with Ozpin standing over him. He was in the medical wing. Jaune gripped the sheets under his good hand to make sure that this was real.

Relief washed through Jaune. This was real, but that realization also brought all the stresses of his life crashing back to him. It was Thursday, which meant he had just over a week to prepare for the tournament. His most recent combat experience didn't give him confidence. Then there was Pyrrha. He still didn't know what was wrong, and was fairly certain that he wouldn't get the chance to talk to her about it. He had learned something valuable in the fight, though. It was Cardin who was at fault, and if he wanted answers, the local bully was the place to go.

Jaune checked his scroll. It was around the same time he normally woke up, and he hoped he could get some breakfast soon. His head swam when he moved, so he didn't think he could go to the cafeteria. Maybe someone would bring him food. Jaune's suspicion held true, and a kindly medical attendant brought him a bowl of Pumpking Pete's Marshmallow Flakes. Though it used to be his favorite cereal, all of the sudden he didn't feel hungry. The cereal reminded him of Pyrrha.

He thanked the attendant and forced down a few bites of the cereal. From what he understood of the medical babble, he needed energy to replenish his aura, which in turn would heal him. Though his aura would replenish from the natural energy in his body, to keep that up he had to eat. Pyrrha helping him study was definitely paying off, Jaune wouldn't have been able to understand half of that before.

After choking down some cereal, Jaune drank the juice that had accompanied it. The morning crawled by at an excruciatingly slow pace, Jaune unable to do much more than look around his small room. He tried talking to a few medics, but they seemed somewhat busy, and Jaune couldn't hold a conversation for more than a few minutes. He got so bored and agitated that he considered going to sleep just to pass the time, but didn't want to suffer through another nightmare. The previous one was still to vivid.

So Jaune spent most of the morning thinking about Pyrrha. He was trying to figure out what Cardin could possibly have on her that would make her bow to him. Pyrrha wasn't proud per say, but she had a certain dignity to her, and it must have been something hefty if she would allow Cardin to control her. Jaune had considered him and Pyrrha close friends, and she had never told him anything that would prove to be leveraging to that extent. Unless Jaune really didn't know Pyrrha, he couldn't see her doing anything so bad that she would allow herself to be controlled.

Jaune sighed. It was an impossible dilemma. He was sure he knew Pyrrha well, and she wouldn't do this unless she had no choice. If he could ask her, he was certain he could help, but that was the crux of the issue. With him only having partial information and Pyrrha unable to give him the rest, there was no way that Jaune could help solve the issue. His mind continued looping in circles. If she could just tell him, but she couldn't, but if she could, he would...

Lunch offered a reprieve for Jaune. Ruby came to visit and he was glad for the company. She brought him some decent food, which made Jaune very happy. A sandwich, some People Like Grapes pop, and a box of cookies. Jaune was pretty sure he wouldn't get any of the cookies, though. His red caped friend seemed to be munching through the entire box.

"So, how're things with team RWBY?" Jaune asked. He felt compelled to talk to Ruby about their teams. He felt he could learn a lot from her about being a leader. At his question though, Ruby's face fell, loosing its quirky cheerfulness.

"I don't really know," She began, "It's only been Weiss and I today. We all thought Blake had gotten up early, but she's just not at school. Then Yang says she feels sick, but I don't think she is. She was fine this morning. Now we can't find her either."

"Oh," Jaune didn't really know how to reply. It upset him though, hearing that team RWBY was also on the fritz. His own team was down to two functional members, and now so was team RWBY. "How about Ren and Nora?"

"They seem to be alright. They're holding together well, despite what's happening with you and whatever is going on with P-" Ruby paused, considering her next words. "Your partner."

"Well that's good to hear, thanks." Ruby smiled at him, then stuffed her face with another cookie. Jaune took the opportunity to take a bite from his sandwich. "How's Weiss?" Jaune asked when the two had eaten a bit.

"She's a little upset. There was a White Fang attack on a Schnee shipment on a train last night. So she's been a little more ice queeny than normal, but other than that she seems alright." Jaune decided that this was a bad week for everyone.

"You alright?" Jaune asked, picking up on the tension in his friend's shoulders.

"Yep. Just a little worried I guess. I'm the leader right? I don't want my team to fall apart, I'm supposed to keep it together, right?"

"You're the leader, but sometimes people have to work things out for themselves I guess. If you think they need your help, offer it. Otherwise, maybe let them deal with it." Ruby nodded back to him, smiling again.

The two returned to idle talk, the tournament coming up, how much Port's classes sucked (missing his classes was probably the only upside to being bedridden) and a quick debate on whether Blake would like salmon or tuna more. Jaune wasn't sure how they got onto the subject, but he figured it would be salmon. Everyone liked salmon. According to Ruby, though, Blake had passed on salmon several times in favor of tuna.

"Oh, and I brought these," Ruby said as their argument ended, "I figured you might want something to do." She brought Jaune's textbooks and notepads out of a bag on her back and laid them on the table to the side of Jaune's bed.

"Uh, thanks I guess." Jaune said. He was grateful for something to do, but he really didn't want to do schoolwork.

"I know, not fun, but you gotta keep up. You'll miss a day or two here before you can return, and it's probably better if you don't get far behind. You don't have Pyrrha to help you c-" Ruby broke off as she started to realize what she was saying. She threw her hands over her mouth. Jaune felt himself go cold. "I'm so sorry, Jaune..." She tried to put a comforting hand on his shoulder but Jaune knocked it away. His anger died quickly though, replaced by a terrible sadness.

"Sorry, it's fine." He said, "You're right though. Thanks for the books. You should probably get back to class before you're late." Ruby took the hint and left, apologizing furiously as she gently closed the door.

Jaune sighed. It was going to be a long few days as his aura worked to mend his body. Having nothing else to do, Jaune flipped open his history of Remnant textbook and flipped through it until he found the current chapter. He started reading, but his eyes quickly glossed over and he lost focus. He found his thoughts drifting towards a certain redhead again and he shook himself. It was essentially read the book, or think about Pyrrha. Suddenly the words on the page seemed much more interesting.

Restless. That's how Pyrrha would describe her day. Her usual composure was being eaten away by the guilt that gnawed at her stomach. It was just past lunch in Goodwitch's class. Having no partner, Pyrrha stayed in her seat, watching everyone else fight. There was a good number of students in the class that would be fighting in the tournament, and Pyrrha took the opportunity to study their fighting styles. It also provided a distraction from Jaune.

Eventually, however, Pyrrha had scrutinized the preferences of almost every combatant in the arena, and her thoughts wandered once more. They came to rest on a certain blond haired boy. That's why her day was restless. She was either working her mind or body so hard that she blotted out all thoughts, or she was thinking about Jaune, which was even more exhausting.

Pyrrha gathered her books under her arm and approached Professor Goodwitch. Her teacher was watching all the fights intently, studiously making a few notes on her scroll every once in a while. Pyrrha considered it quite exceptional that someone so intellectually based could also prove to be so efficient in combat. From what she had been told by Ruby, Goodwitch could very well be one of the most powerful huntresses in Remnant, certainly in Vale. Pyrrha walked to the professor's side and waited patiently for her teacher to notice.

"Hello Miss Nikos," Goodwitch said without removing her eyes from the fighting. "What can I do for you?"

"Well, as you know my partner has been incapacitated, and no one has issued a challenge towards me. If it would be alright, I would request to leave the class early. I have some work to catch up on, and would appreciate the extra study time in the library." Goodwitch was silent for a moment, making another note on her scroll. Pyrrha waited patiently.

"Very well, but do not forget that the tournament is just a week away." Goodwitch replied, the words smacking Pyrrha.

"I know it all too well." Pyrrha said, realizing too late the dark edge that had crept into her tone. For the first time, Goodwitch switched her gaze from the fighting to her student. She studied Pyrrha intently, before hmm-ing and turning away.

"You are dismissed."

Pyrrha thanked her, then proceeded to exit the arena. She made her way to the library. She hadn't been telling the truth to Goodwitch about having work to do, but she had told the truth about where she was going. Pyrrha didn't know what she was going to do there, but she figured there must be something in the massive room that could distract her.

Pyrrha went through the shelves, but nothing caught her eye. She wasn't much of a reader anyhow, and today she just didn't have it in her to force herself to study. Defeated, Pyrrha found an abandoned table and sat down. She opened her books in front of her to make it look like she was studying. As always though, her thoughts drifted back to Jaune. Her conversation with Ozpin had made it impossible for them not to.

He was right. Pyrrha did not want to be just peers with Jaune, and the more she was thinking about it, the more she started to realize a truth that she had been denying to herself for months now. The first few months of school, Jaune had been trying to get with Weiss. Pyrrha hadn't understood it, but every time that Jaune had mentioned her, she had felt sad. She had brushed it off as sympathy, but now she wondered if it was something a little more personal.

Then she thought of the training sessions. She had pinned Jaune a thousand times, always with her javelin through his hoodie. Except for once, but Pyrrha blushed at that recent memory. Her last training session. She had knocked Jaune over, then straddled him. She couldn't help but remember the pleasure she felt at his embarrassment. It had made her feel a little warm in her chest that she could have that effect on Jaune when they were in close proximity. It meant that maybe, just maybe, he felt the same.

Her mind ran through all her favorite memories of Jaune. Studying closely together, the one time he had hugged her in fear while they had watched a scary movie, him offering her the parts of his meals he knew she liked. She always declined politely, pointing out that she could just grab the same item from the table, but Jaune had continued anyways.

Then there was the most recent string of events. When it had started a week ago, Pyrrha had pushed Jaune away. She had thought that maybe, if he thought she hated him, he would hate her too. Maybe he would leave it be and he would be alright, but Jaune wouldn't leave it. No matter how much she pushed him away, Jaune had tried to help. For all she knew, he was still trying to help. She couldn't help but recall how much it had torn her apart to be away from him, to hurt him like she had. Hurting him had been terrible, and Pyrrha actually hated herself a little for doing it, but it was worse not being able to be with him. Pyrrha's chest had been constantly aching for a week now, and it wasn't a physical issue. Pyrrha buried her face in her hands as she fought to contain the realization that was tugging at her mind. She fought it, but the fact was irrevocable, incontrovertible and inescapable. No matter what way she played it in her mind, Pyrrha kept coming up with the same answer.

She loved Jaune.

And she had shattered anything that had ever existed between them.

"How are you?" Blake opened her eyes at the question. She had been lying back on a rock, her elbows propped behind her and one leg resting half way up the rock. It had been relaxing. For a moment, Blake had forgotten everything. She had just been lying there, allowing the world to be, allowing herself merely to exist. That question ripped that away from her though.

"Fine," She said in a cutting tone. She allowed her anger to seep through. It was Adam's fault what had happened, and she wanted to make sure he knew what he had done. He paused at her tone, turning towards her.

"I meant your wound." He didn't apologize. Blake didn't expect him to. In his eyes, he had done nothing wrong.

"It's getting better. Another few hours and I'll be back to normal." He nodded sharply, but then came over and sat beside her.

"And how about what happened? How are you feeling?" Blake hadn't expected that. She didn't really know how to answer. She didn't want to answer him, so she didn't. She probably would have shot him a dark glare if she hadn't felt so terrible.

Maybe it wasn't all Adam's fault.

"I feel awful," It was blatant, honest truth. "But it also made one thing clear."

"And what's that?"

"There's no way I want to help the White Fang. This is it, Adam. After this, I don't want to hear a whisper of the White Fang ever again. Clear?" Adam nodded at her.

"Clear enough for now." His normally smooth voice held the slightest edge to it.

"Good," She stated. "So what are we doing?"

"You'll see. For now, just rest up."

Adam stood once more and walked away from her, towards their little camp ground. Blake watched him go, his long, confident strides carrying him away from her. Blake felt her stomach churning once again. She drew her knees up to her chest and hugged them, resting her chin on top. The truth was she felt awful.

She felt terrible about what had just happened with Yang. Her partner, if she still had the right to call her that, had been tolerant of her through the week, accepting Blake's problem. She had offered to help, something that must have been hard seeming as it involved Blake's past with Yang's enemies. Blake had essentially spat in her face by vandalizing that train. Worse than that, she had actively damaged her friend's company, and if Weiss found out, this time there would be no going back for Blake. There was one thing though, on top of all that, that made her feel even worse.

She was liking this.

Being with Adam again was refreshing in a way, liberating. Blake was almost happy out here with her old partner. There was a certain security in this type of life. To anyone who didn't know, it might be scary, loose and unpredictable. To Blake though, these were the things that made it so safe. At Beacon, Blake had a team, friends and a life. There was so much for her to _lose_. With Adam though, all of that didn't seem to matter. There was nothing in her life that could fall apart. There was her and her partner, fighting for a better world, and nothing else was important.

That's how Blake felt, and it was an even bigger betrayal to her team than anything she had done up to that point.

Blake hugged herself tighter and tried to stop the tears in her eyes from flowing down her face, but she was unsuccessful, and she wept silently.

Pyrrha didn't know how long she had been sitting there. She had just sat there, staring down at the books in front of her without seeing anything. She hadn't cried at all. She felt too hollow and icy to cry. She couldn't keep track of time, she couldn't focus on her books. All she could do was sit there, allowing the realization to shock her system.

"Heeeello there my darling," Pyrrha heard the voice, knew who it belonged to, but couldn't bring herself to care. She looked up and locked eyes with Cardin, not saying a word. "What's wrong, Pyrrha?" He asked, his voice a mocking, lilting sweet tone. She still didn't answer. Part of it was out of pride, she didn't want to give him the satisfaction of seeing how hard this was, but part of it was because she didn't trust herself to speak. "Good job yesterday, by the way. Jaune must be real pleased."

"Don't say his name. Everything that's happened to him, it's your fault." Pyrrha growled. His last words had sent a jolt of anger through her, and she held onto that. Anger was something, and so much better than that hollow, dead, emptiness that had consumed her.

"Me? I didn't do anything. Well, maybe a little something, but it was all within the confines of sparring. You, on the other hand, let your whole team down. Pyrrha Nikos, the invincible girl." His voice trailed off, and Pyrrha couldn't help but feel she should be upset at the pride in his voice. She wasn't though. "Not quite invincible, are you? They were counting on you. Let's be honest, you can take out my entire team single handedly, that match was for Jauney boy. You let him down, but that's alright, you've got other friends now." He said, leaning back in his chair, putting his hands on the back of his head.

"We're not friends, Cardin." She said, "Jaune is my friend. Nora, Ren, team RWBY, they're my friends. You are not, Cardin." The words were coming out of her mouth, but Pyrrha hardly registered them.

"Well, let's not be so harsh, and do you really think you and Jaune are friends?" Cardin said, his mood still upbeat. Pyrrha was getting dangerously close to hating Cardin. She knew it was her who had done everything to Jaune, except for the broken body, but Cardin was the one making her do it. Pyrrha felt helpless, sad, angry, but most of all hollow. Her earlier realization still had her entire system in shock. She refused to answer Cardin's question, and the massive teen grinned even wider. "Well, good talk Pyrrha. I'll see you soon."

Cardin got up and left the library. The conversation hadn't registered much for Pyrrha, her mind still caught on Jaune. She wanted to run to the medical wing, burst into his room and embrace him. It had taken her far too long to admit to herself how much he meant, and she didn't want to waste another moment without letting him know. Pyrrha knew she couldn't though. Cardin was keeping tabs on her, and she couldn't risk him finding out. She had to do something though.

Pyrrha checked her scroll, looking at the screen three times before picking up on the time. It was well past ten o'clock, and Pyrrha was beginning to feel the fatigue in her body. She stood, gathering her books to her chest, then walked out of the library. She passed a few students still up studying, but for the most part, the library was abandoned. She smiled a little at all the students who were still there, helping each other study. It reminded her of Jaune, and she was happy for them. At least there were others enjoying themselves. Despite her happiness for them, she began to feel the hollowness seep back into her limbs. Any thought of Jaune seemed to trigger it.

Pyrrha paused mid stride. She _had_ to do something to tell Jaune she still cared. Maybe that way there'd still be a chance that when all this was over, everything said and done, they could be more than just peers. Pyrrha changed directions, heading towards another wing of the school. Her stride picked up, finally seeing something she could do. It was small, of course, hardly something that would normally make any difference, but Pyrrha hoped that maybe Jaune would see it as more than that.

She came to her destination and came to a stop. It wasn't a particularly large wooden door, but it looked solid. Pyrrha took a deep breath, hoping that this would go over well. She reached out and knocked. There was no noise for a period of time, but then Professor Port opened the door.

"Ah, miss Nikos," He said in his usual, hefty tone, "Uh, It is rather late. Is there something of an urgent matter?"

"Yes sir," She replied, trying to sound formal. "It may sound insignificant, sir, but have you finished grading the Grimm assignments from last week?"

"Why yes, I make sure to always grade assignments in a timely and orderly fashion. What of it?"

"I would like to ask you for Jaune Arc's paper."

"That," Port's voice trailed off for a moment, "Is highly irregular. May I enquire as to why?"

"It's... Personal." Pyrrha settled on the word. She had never asked for something personal before, but it felt right. It was honest, at the least. Port studied her for a moment before giving his answer.

"Certainly, just one moment please miss Nikos." He closed the door again, only to reappear a few moments later. He handed Pyrrha a small roll of paper, Jaune's report. Pyrrha thanked him genuinely. The little paper brought back a few memories of the night they had written it. Pyrrha didn't feel contented at the thoughts, she still felt terrible, but she didn't feel as hollow anymore. That was a start.

Pyrrha opened the door to her dorm after walking through the halls for a few minutes. Ren and Nora were already asleep, so Pyrrha silenced her footfalls. She changed into her night wear, took her circlet from her hair and let it hang down. She didn't like her hair when it was down. It was unkempt, improper and liable to get in her way. It was, however, bearable while she slept. She swept her hair over her right shoulder, and returned to the main room. She neatly stowed her armor away, as she always did. She then placed Milos through her shield's grip and set the two near the foot of her bed.

She took the paper from the place on her bed where she had put it, and pulled the string that kept it in a roll. She smoothed the paper out, and felt a burst of pride as she saw the mark, an 'A'. It was the best mark Pyrrha knew of Jaune getting, and she had helped him get it. She strolled over to his bed, about to put it on his pillow. Her fearless leader, however, had failed to make his bed the previous morning. Pyrrha might have laughed a little at his forgetfulness were it not for her hollow mood. She quickly made his bed, then put the paper on his pillow.

She wasn't satisfied though. There seemed to be something missing. Pyrrha didn't feel as though this symbolized their relationship enough. An idea grew in her mind, but she hesitated. It might be too much. On a whim, however, Pyrrha walked back to her bed, picking Milos up. She walked back to Jaune's bed, and started in on her work. It didn't take her long, given her skill with the blade, and after only a few strokes she stepped back. She hopped Jaune understood the magnitude of what she'd done.

Somewhat satisfied, Pyrrha walked to her own bed and tucked herself in. For the first time in a week, she fell asleep easily.

**So I'm thinking the next chapter is going to be centred around Blake's 'night out'. Depending on how long that goes, we might get another Blake only chapter, though I will try to include a bit of Pyrrha/Jaune. Other than that, the last few major plot points are falling into place, and it shouldn't be long before the story starts to wrap up! As always, hope everyone's enjoying reading this as much as I am writing. Also thanks to everyone who is supporting the story with favourites, follows, reviews and tips. I really appreciate them all! **


	13. Chapter 13

Blake allowed herself to relax against the soft forest floor. They had about an hour before they'd leave on their mission. She looked at her partner to be. His presence calmed Blake's raging thoughts a little, but she still couldn't help but feel a bit edgy. Between Yang, what she had done the previous night and what she was about to do, Blake was feeling plenty guilty, and her mind wasn't letting her forget it. Blake wasn't really used to guilt. She had done some questionable things, but she had always been convinced that it was the right thing to do. No matter what, Blake had been sure of herself.

Now though, she wasn't. She didn't feel she had a choice, but something deep in her stomach was offset. Yang's words earlier had struck something deep in the core of Blake's being. She had left the White Fang for a reason, and now she was working with them again. She ran through everything that had happened in her mind, and it made sense that she was here. Despite understanding why she was, Blake still had issues wrapping her mind around the fact that she was working once more with an organization that deemed it alright to harm innocent people.

Adam looked up from the log and made eye contact with her. He was still wearing his mask, he never took it off. He had used the symbolic meaning of the mask and taken it to an extreme level. He was nice to her, but Blake wondered how much he had allowed himself to become the monster who's face he bore. He stood and walked over, sitting down next to her.

"Hey Blake," He began, his voice still carrying its ragged edge. "Feeling better?"

For the most part, her wound was better. A combination of her aura, special dust mixtures and Adam's expertise had ensured that she was operational within a day of being shot. Despite this, however, the wound still ached. Blake guessed that the healing had been a bit rushed, and it could take a very long time for the rest of it to repair itself. There was always a price for tampering with the natural processes of the body.

"Mostly, its a little painful." Adam studied her face briefly. He looked down at her wound, then laid a hand gently on her stomach. Blake sucked in a breath as he pushed her shirt up a little. She knew it was to reveal the wound underneath, but the tenderness that Adam touched her with made Blake's stomach do a flip flop. At the sound of her gasp, Adam looked back to her face. His hand never left her stomach.

"You alright?"

"Yeah, I'm fine." She reassured, laying her hand over his. She let it rest for a moment before sighing and gently guiding it away from her body.

There was a time when Blake still worked with the White Fang that she had thought about Adam that way. It was once, on a warm summers day when she was feeling particularly lonely with no book to comfort her. She thought that maybe she and Adam would be more than partners someday. They were so close that Blake knew him better than anyone else. They shared an incomparable trust, and it made sense that someday, when everything was said and done, it could happen.

It hadn't taken Blake long to realize the naiveté of the thought. Adam was far too intense and dark. Blake wasn't exactly a sunshine and rainbows person, but there was still a spark in her life. Adam was more akin to a void. Blake doubted he would ever be able to detach himself from this life enough to ever be in a relationship. Nonetheless, his soft touch made Blake's stomach twist a little. She felt guilty for it though. The only other person who had ever made her feel that way was Yang. Thinking about her blonde partner brought a bout of sadness to Blake. She hadn't had any time to really think about what had happened, and she was just beginning to feel the edges of the gaping sadness that her partner's words had left her with.

She shoved it back down, throwing her walls back up. The cold, disinterest returning to her. It was easier to maintain it out here, where she had learned to do it first. Blake didn't have time to be worried or sad, she had a mission to complete. Until that happened, nothing else mattered.

Blake let her breath escape from her lips, the foggy condensation blowing out into the cool night air. This was the part she hated the most. The waiting. On a regular mission, Blake hated this part, but the fact that Adam still hadn't told her what she'd be doing worried her. There was nothing she could do, as no matter how much she had pressed Adam, he refused to answer. So Blake stayed still, crouching low on the branch of a tree. Her side was sore, but she ignored it.

She heard the slightest of creaks from the branch behind her, and her ears flicked. Adam had decided to join her. He stood, of course. Adam never crouched or sat before a mission. He was always a little stiffer than normal, shoulders missing their usual cocky slant. Blake didn't bother looking behind her or acknowledging him. He shifted his weight a few times, causing a few audible creaks and groans from the wood. He was testing to see if she had noticed. She didn't bother answering, which of course was an answer unto itself. Not acknowledging the obvious loud sounds meant she had ignored the first one too.

Blake wouldn't let it show, especially around Adam, but she was nervous. It wasn't just because she was about to throw herself into imminent danger and possible death, but more that she didn't have her team beside her. Blake had grown accustomed to the comforting presence of Yang, Ruby and Weiss beside her in combat. She had Adam, which was comforting in another way, but it didn't feel the same.

"Let's go," Adam said behind her. She didn't move, waiting for Adam to move ahead first. He paused for a moment, but eventually dropped from the tree. Blake followed, dropping softly to the ground. They were at the edge of a forest, and in front of them were spread a few grassy fields. Adam had told her earlier that their mission was centered in a remote area, but to not be fooled.

Though Adam had refused to name the targeted company, he had told her it was an incredibly secure one. Near invisible sensor pads buried under the dirt, security cameras and laser sensors all played a part to notify a vast network of androids, machines and humans that all worked as a security detail.

The open, grassy hills unnerved Blake as she and Adam jogged through them. She felt much more at home in a secluded forest with lots of cover. The only thing she had going for her right now was the cover of darkness, and even there, she only garnered an advantage on the humans. The machines and androids had enough tech to ensure that their senses were still sharp no matter what the conditions were. As such, Blake felt exposed. They hugged the bottoms of the hills, making sure never to stand on top of one, but nonetheless, Blake felt far from invisible.

She liked feeling invisible. Before Beacon, there had only been a few people who had ever really noticed her. Adam was the most prominent example. He seemed to see something in her that no one else did, making her feel as though she could really make a difference in the world. There was Tukson, but they had only ever talked about books. She had never made friends in the White Fang. Something she was more than thankful for now. Other than those few individuals, Blake had spent the first sixteen years of her life almost invisible, fading into the back of the crowd. It was part of why she would wear the bow.

Then Beacon came, and she wasn't invisible. One of the strongest students, assigned to a team of three other talented huntresses in training, one of whom she was dating. While Blake had started to warm to the feeling, there was still a part of her, reserved and tucked away, that yearned to meld with the shadows once more.

Blake snapped out of her reverie as she felt the ground sink ever so slightly beneath her.

"Shit," She cursed silently. It was rare for Blake to resort to that kind of language, but she knew exactly what this was. "Adam," Blake said, her voice letting the urgency of the situation known. He turned back to her and saw the way she was standing, trying to minimize the pressure on the one patch of ground.

"Looks like we're going loud again." He said, then nodded to her. She removed her foot completely. The warning would be silent, sending signals through the security network, letting it be known exactly where the intruders were. _Thirty seconds, _Blake started the mental timer. Given the size of the property and the amount of security, Adam had warned her that they would never have more than thirty seconds if an alarm went off.

Thirty seconds was not a lot of time.

Drawing Gambol Shroud, Blake followed Adam as he dashed to the top of the hill, sprinting down the opposite side. They weren't able to put a lot of distance between themselves and the pressure plate before Blake caught the sound of the first androids arriving. She and Adam whipped around, spreading apart. Hopefully, the androids would be forced to spread out and search. They would find the pair of intruders, but Blake and Adam might be able to catch them off guard.

Blake stilled herself, crouching low behind a small bush. She lost sight of Adam, but knew he was about fifty paces away. A moment later, the first android crested the hilltop. It was accompanied by three others, and the trio made their way down the hill towards the space between Adam and Blake. They moved slowly, their delicate sensors working to find the tress passers. When they were between Adam and Blake, they froze.

Blake leaped out of her hiding spot, slashing at the nearest android. She got a hit off on it, but had to duck low before swinging again to dodge an attack from the middle android. Before the third one could get in on the action, Adam came out of nowhere and cleaved it in two. Blake drew her sheath as she twisted, slashing back out at the legs of the two remaining drones. They collapsed as their legs fell out from under them. Blake dispatched them with two quick strokes.

"Let's go," Adam said shortly. Blake nodded in agreement. The androids were likely communicating through a network, and now the entire security net would know about the intruders.

Blake's ears twitched as they picked up the sounds of the remaining androids coming over the hill. She took off at a run, Adam following. She flipped her sheath around in her hand so that it was upside down, preparing herself for the inevitable fight. Despite her and Adam both being in incredible shape, the androids were gaining ground. Their mechanical legs didn't tire, and Blake knew it was only a matter of time before they would overtake her and Adam. She listened to their footfalls getting closer, timing and calculating.

Blake dug her heel into the ground, killing all her momentum. She leapt backwards, twisting in the air to slash at the lead android. She severed its head from its neck, and it collapsed sideways, but Blake was already gone. She swept Gambol Shroud at another opponent, cutting away at its armor. She ducked under the sword-arm of another android, bringing her sheath up as she stood again, slicing the drone from hip to shoulder. She parried a strike with her sheath as she changed Gambol Shroud into its whip form. She fired it forward into her attacker, then fired it off, sending it slamming it into another opponent.

Four of them came at her at once, and Blake leapt into the air. She whipped Gambol Shroud around, slicing across all four androids, then fired Gambol Shroud in quick succession as she twisted through the air, a number of hits landing on each opponent. The four collapsed, but as Blake landed, another android charged. Caught off guard, Blake had to activate her semblance, lunging backwards. The android slashed at the shadow clone she had left behind and it flickered out of existence. Blake always found that part discomforting, knowing that if she hadn't moved, it would be her throat with that blade inside of it rather than her clone.

Adam dashed in from behind Blake, slicing off the android's arm with a quick cut. He followed up with another quick slash at its leg, severing that as well. It was the last one, for now. Blake took a moment to catch her breath, but Adam didn't allow her much respite.

"We have to keep moving, Blake. We need to get there soon or we'll have no chance."

Reluctantly, Blake stood again, the two taking off at a fast pace. They didn't bother sneaking around anymore; the entire security force would know they were there by now. Not for the first time that night, Blake wished she knew what their destination was, but followed Adam nonetheless.

Her sensitive ears started picking up a lot of activity. There were probably two dozen androids closing in around them. Adam and Blake still had a good head start on them, but it wouldn't hold for long. Blake sped up, turning her run into a full tilt sprint, Adam following suit. "Up there," Adam said as the crested another hill. Blake looked down to see a small wooden cabin. Confusion flashed across her mind. She didn't understand why such a small, insignificant building would be so heavily guarded. She pushed the thought to the back of her mind, focusing instead on their current situation. Whatever Adam was planning to do, Blake hoped he could do it quickly. They would have a minute or so once they reached the cabin before the androids would catch up. At that point, Blake didn't know if they would make it out. A dozen androids a piece was not insignificant.

They slid down the last, steep stretch of the hill. They came up close to the cabin, and a few human guards brandishing dust guns filed out of the front door. Great. Blake dodged to the side as a stream of bullets ripped through the ground where she had been a moment ago. She counted six guards. Adam bounded towards them, easily deflecting the bullets. Blake followed his lead, charging them. One of the guards opened fire, but between her sheath and Gambol Shroud, Blake made easy work of the bullets flying at her. She launched her whip forward when she was a few paces away, hooking it onto the chest piece of a guard. She pulled the trigger and pulled at the same time. The guard was sent flying past her as the move sent Blake flying towards the cabin.

Blake rolled as she came up between two more guards. One fired at her, and Blake blurred as she left a shadow clone behind. She spun and slammed the blunt side of her sheath into his stomach, knocking the wind out of him and sending him to the ground. She leapt over a slash from the blade the other guard had produced. As she spun in the air she caught a glimpse of Adam slashing and parrying with his blade with practiced ease. She brought her leg up as she came down, using her momentum to add to the speed of the kick. Her foot connected with the guard's temple and he went down.

She whipped around to help Adam. He parried a high strike from the guard on his right, then brought the sword back to strike the other guard on the back of his head. The guard collapsed next to the unconscious body of one of his compatriots, apparently already bested by Adam. Adam brought his sword up again, parrying with astounding speed. He spun and kicked the guards knee, causing him to collapse. Adam brought his sword up and slashed downward.

Directly towards the guard's throat.

Blake's heart skipped a beat and she lunged forward. She brought her sheath up just barely in time to stop Adam's blade an inch from the guard's throat.

"Adam, no." She said, allowing the desperation to seep into her voice. This was why she had left the first time. She wasn't going to let Adam hurt people this time either. His head snapped up to her, a scowl on his face and sharp response on his lips. When he saw the seriousness in her eyes, however, he backed off. He nodded, then clubbed the guard in the forehead with his sheath.

"We might not have the luxury of doing that again," Adam said as he moved past Blake towards the door. He kicked the wooden door in and entered, sword at the ready. Blake followed. She reattached her sheath to her back, switching Gambol Shroud back to its sword form. She wouldn't have room to use the two blades in this confined a space.

The cabin was small, a room to either side of the main hallways she was standing in. At the end, the hallway forked two ways. Adam and Blake moved forward silently and cautiously, swords held in front of them.

She could hear a few guards talking insistently in hushed tones down the hallway to the left. She and Adam advanced quietly, and Adam held up a hand as he reached the hallway junction. He peeked around the corner, and after a moment he pulled away. He motioned for her to do the same. Blake snuck up to the corner and shifted her head ever so slightly so she could just barely see what was happening.

There were five guards standing around a solid metal trap door in the floor. The room was small, only five feet on either side of the hatch, which respectively was only large enough for one person. Two of the guards were kneeling over it, one with a small bottle of dust in one hand and a box of matches in the other.

"We have to seal it off," This guard said to the other. "We can't let the White Fang down there."

"We can't, that's millions of lien worth of dust down there. We seal it off and we'll lose the company half its annual revenue."

"Who gives a damn about revenue? What would the White Fang do it they got a hold of all of this?"

"They won't get it. There's the other fifty guards in the barracks that are on their way. They'll have this place secure in no time."

The two continued bickering, and Blake pulled back from the wall. She looked back at Adam who held up three fingers. He lowered one, then the next, then they moved. Blake jumped from behind the corner and bounded off the opposite wall. She flew into the first guard, knocking him out with a blow from the flat of her blade to the head. Another two came at her, and Blake activated her semblance. The two guards swung at the shadow image behind her as she rapped one of them on the head from behind. The other guard turned, confusion on his face, but Blake quickly dealt with him by sweeping his legs out from under him. He fell onto his head and it was lights out.

Adam was doing just as well, having already dispatched one guard. As she watched, he threw the remaining guard into the wall. Blake was pleased to see that he hadn't severely injured anyone. The two of them stood over the trap door. Adam bent over and pulled the door up. There was a slight drop, and Blake jumped in. She landed and found herself at the top of a spiraling staircase.

She looked up at Adam, who had a scroll in his hand. She was going to ask what he was doing, but he tucked it away almost immediately. He jumped in after her, and her curiosity died. They walked down the staircase, still on guard. The stairs spiraled down for a while before they opened up onto a grated platform. What Blake saw took her breath away.

They were at the top of a massive cavern, wherein more dust than Blake had ever seen was stored. Veritable mountains of unrefined crystals were piled into four corners of the cavern. Red, blue, yellow and green crystals, and more than Blake had ever seen before. There must have been several tons worth of dust in this cavern. Millions of lien, easily.

The cabin was just an entrance point. The target had been the cavern. Blake paused as she thought of the cabin. She wondered what had happened to all the androids pursuing them, but the thought quickly drifted out of her mind as she took in the scene around her. It was absolutely breath taking. So enraptured with the sight was she that she missed the sound of footsteps behind her.

"We have the charges Adam," Said a thickly accented voice. Blake had heard that voice before. She turned to see a well muscled White Fang operative, in the typical armor and mask. It was the same faunus who led the recruitment sessions. Blake had never met him in person, but by reputation, he was one of the strongest members of the White Fang.

"Thanks," Adam said, sheathing his blade and accepting a bundle from the other man. Three more well muscled members of the White Fang came out of the staircase, and Blake's heart sank. The situation with the charges was all too familiar.

"Adam," She said, her voice urgent. "What about all the guards? What about the workers?" Adam paused, then turned towards her. He came up to her and rested a his free hand on her shoulder. Blake shied away from the contact, a slight streak of panic shooting through her.

"Blake, I know what you're thinking, but all of these people have subjugated, beaten and murdered. This entire company has blood on its hands. Anyone who works for them supports them. Do you have any idea how many faunus have been killed at the hands of these brutes?"

Blake was shaking her head, fear rushing through her entire body.

"You can't just kill everyone, Adam." Adam opened his mouth to answer, but was cut off by the accented man.

"Who is this?" He said, and Adam turned to him.

"A friend," He answered curtly. He turned away from Blake and turned a dial on the charges he had been given. He tossed them towards the middle of the room, and Blake knew what she had to do. If that bomb went off, it would ignite the entire dust store. The explosion would be massive, and would likely incinerate anything in a large radius. She wouldn't let them murder an entire compound of workers. Gambol Shroud collapsed to its whip form and Blake shot it out. By luck or skill, she wasn't sure, the blade of the chain scythe pierced the charges. Blake pulled the trigger and the charges flew back to her. She caught them and turned.

The room was dead quiet, all eyes on her.

The accented man was the first to move. He dove at her, drawing his weapon. It was a simple blade with a pistol inlaid into the guard. Blake dodged backwards and kicked out at him. With Gambol Shroud still in the charges she had no weapon. Before the others could react, she charged, sliding at the last second, leaving a shadow clone where she had been. She came up behind them running. Only Adam had seen the move coming and was right behind her as she barrelled up the stairs.

She heard the others behind her as she reached the hatch. Fortunately it had been left open, and Blake leapt up, grabbing the edge. She hoisted herself up, then whirled and shut the latch behind her. She doubted it would buy her much time, but she would take what she could get. She sprinted through the house, extricating Gambol Shroud from the charges.

She sprinted through the hills, making her way towards the forest. She reached it, but could still hear the others not far behind her. She climbed the nearest tree and leapt from branch to branch. When she was sure she was out of their line of sight for a moment, she fired Gambol Shroud into the top of a massive tree and swung herself up into the canopy. She hoped that the leaves would hide her from her perusers.

She looked down and managed to see them running underneath the tree she was just in. She waited until the ran out of her line of sight, then released her breath. Then she looked down at the charge in her hand. The dial was only a few seconds from igniting. Blake dropped the charge immediately, but the bomb detonated before it hit the ground.

Blake was thrown from her perch with the shockwave of the blast. She crashed through branches towards the forest floor. Her ears rang as she landed hard on her back, the air rushing from her lungs. Blake stood and coughed. Her aura had protected her from the worst of the damage, but Blake was still going to be very sore tomorrow.

She stood shakily, the started to run into the forest. She had to get away from the members of the White Fang. They'd be hunting her now, and there was only one place Blake could think of that would be safe.

She just hoped her friends at Beacon would take her back.

**So that's the last of the one character only chapters. From here on, there aren't any plot points that will take up a full chapter. The story has been focusing on Blake's arc a bit more recently, but rest assured that in the next few chapters it'll pick up for Jaune and Pyrrha again. Thanks for reading, and I hope you're enjoying it! Any tips, suggestions or comments are always welcome in the review section as well! **


	14. Chapter 14

Jaune rolled over, groaning. He pulled his scroll off the table beside his medical cot and checked the time. It was 6:32. Way too early to be awake. He sighed and sat up on the side of the bed. He shook his head from side to side, checking whether he was still constantly dizzy. The concussion seemed to be getting better, and Jaune tried his luck at standing. He wobbled a little, but that could easily be from spending two days in bed, never using his legs.

Jaune made his way over to the door and opened in with his good arm. His left arm was still in a sling, and Jaune didn't want to try his luck with that. His shoulder wasn't aching this morning, though, which was a good sign. He looked around the medical wing, but it was deserted this early in the morning. He looked down at his loose fitting, white medical clothes. He wondered where his armor and hoodie were. He missed his hoodie.

He went back into his room, shutting the door behind him. There was a closet on the right side of his bed, and Jaune walked over. He was pleased to find his armor and clothes hung neatly inside. Jaune pulled off the scratchy white clothes he had been put in with some difficulty, then slid into the more comfortable clothes he had arrived in. He felt good getting back into his baggy jeans, white armor, and, of course, his hoodie. With some effort, he managed to get his sling back onto his arm without jarring his shoulder. Satisfied with his handy work, Jaune opened the door once more and made his way out of the room with his textbooks under his good arm.

He wasn't sure where he was going, but he was done being stuck in that little room with nothing to do but read textbooks or think about Pyrrha. He really didn't like thinking about Pyrrha. Jaune considered going to his dorm, but that of course meant seeing Pyrrha. He was pretty sure that was the last thing he wanted. Jaune let his feet wander through the hallways of Beacon, content to simply be walking again.

It wasn't long before Jaune realized where he was heading. It was the same place he always ended up when he was upset. He had had some time to calm down, but Jaune still couldn't ignore the gaping pit in his stomach that Pyrrha had left behind. He had done his best to bury himself in studying while he was in the hospital, but he couldn't help but notice Pyrrha hadn't visited.

He hadn't expected her to, of course, but there was still some lingering part of him that hoped he would wake up and this would all be over. Just like a bad dream. Jaune opened the door that was in front of him and walked out onto the roof of Beacon's dorms. He walked to the edge and sat down, looking out over his school. Jaune couldn't help remember that it might not be his school for long.

Jaune's stomach dropped. With everything happening between him and Pyrrha, he had hardly spared any time to think about the tournament that was now only a week away. One week. Jaune felt like vomiting, the life he had come to love had a clock on it, and it was ticking down so quickly. He was already halfway to his deadline, and he didn't really feel much more accomplished.

He hadn't even been able to take out team CRDL. Ren and Nora had done their parts, but Jaune hadn't been able to beat Cardin and Russel. He had failed. He remembered that once Pyrrha had taken down their entire team single handed. Jaune couldn't even manage half of them.

He felt a warm trickle flow down his hand and looked down to find a bead of blood slipping down his clenched fist. He had been squeezing his fists without knowing it. He watched the little droplet of blood slide down his palm, pooling on the underside of his hand before dropping off. He watched the blood drop away, spinning into darkness before it would inevitably find the concrete below. He looked down the pathway that led up to Beacon's dorms. It was a narrow, paved stone pathway that twisted through the parklike fields of Beacon. The pathway was lined by arching trees, shading the stones with their deep green canopies.

Jaune followed the pathway out to where it met the fountain in the middle of Beacon. He had never liked the statue much. A group of hunters standing on top of the fallen grimm they had slain seemed far too violent for Jaune's tastes. Hunters did what they had to do, but he didn't think any of them enjoyed it, no one relished the violence.

Jaune looked around the courtyard surrounding the fountain and noticed a shadow out of place. He focused on it, and realized it was moving. He watched as a darkly garbed girl staggered into the courtyard. She looked hurt, and stumbled to the fountain, collapsing beside it. Jaune stood from his seat on the rooftop and looked down in worry. The person wasn't moving.

He rushed back to the door behind him and tore down the staircase. He came to the bottom floor, and dashed out of the dorms towards the fountain. He rushed over the smooth stone pavements, but slowed as he approached the fountain.

Blake Belladonna lay on the stones of the courtyard, and she looked to be in a bad way. She was covered in dirt and soot, though Jaune couldn't imagine any reason why she would have soot on her. She was wearing her traditional bow and clothes, but they were cut and slashed. On top of this, there was a large blood stain along her side. Jaune snapped himself out of his daze and dashed forward, sliding in next to his friend. He knelt beside her looking over her features. Jaune gingerly reached out and shook her shoulder. Blake moaned a little, but didn't really show any sign of moving.

"Blake?" Jaune asked, gently tapping her face, trying to stir her. "Hey Blake, c'mon." Jaune was getting worried now. What the hell was she doing?

Just as Jaune was about to start shouting for help, Blake's head moved a little, and she flinched in her sleep. Jaune shook her again and her eyes opened lazily. She focused on Jaune briefly, then her gaze grew hazy.

"C'mon Blake," He shook her again, and this time a flash of irritation crossed the girl's features. Jaune sighed in relief. If she had the energy to be annoyed with him, she had the energy to get up. He slid his good arm around her back and hoisted her up, slinging her arms around his shoulder. Blake didn't say anything, but staggered along beside him.

The two made their way towards the dorms, Jaune supporting her as she staggered beside him. After what felt like hours, the two came up at the entrance to Beacon's dorms. Jaune dragged Blake through the door, then up the stairs, arriving finally at their destination: team RWBY's room, just across the hall from his own.

Supporting Blake with his good hand, Jaune reached out with his foot and kicked the door lightly a few times, trying to emulate a knock. It didn't work very well, and the teammates inside probably thought someone was trying to break down their door. A few moments later, Ruby opened the door a little, and Jaune could see Crescent Rose fully extended behind her. When Ruby saw who Jaune was holding, though, she dropped her scythe and her eyes went wide.

"Blake!" Ruby squealed excitedly, jumping forward and hugging her teammate. "We've all missed you so much! Where were you?" Blake's only response was a muffled and incomprehensible mumble.

"I saw her collapse by the fountain." Jaune announced as he stepped past his friend. He walked over to the bottom bunk that served as Blake's bed was. He lay her down gently, then stood to face the rest of team RWBY who were looking at Blake oddly. "I thought that maybe she should be with her team. She seems pretty roughed up."

Ruby bounced excitedly next to Weiss who, despite her best efforts, smiled a little. The only person who didn't seem happy was Yang. She stood looking down at Blake looking shellshocked, as though she didn't know what she should do. There was definitely something going on there, but Jaune didn't want to get involved. He was dealing with too much as it was.

"I'm gonna go check up on my team. Let me know if she's alright later, k?" Jaune said as he made his way back to the door. Blake should be with her team when she woke up, and Jaune really did want to check on his team. He figured they'd be alright, but he just wanted to check. Well, really he just wanted to see Pyrrha again.

He pressed his scroll to his door and listened for the faint click that signified the lock turning. He opened the door as silently as he could, sliding inside and closing the door behind him. Everyone on his team other than Nora were light sleepers, and even the little bit of light from the hallway might wake them.

He went over to his bed and sat on it, looking across from it to his partner. He took in the soft curves of her face as she slept. She didn't look peaceful, though, something obviously troubling her sleep. He wanted to walk over and wake her up, ask her what Cardin had done, what was wrong, and hug her tightly. He couldn't though, of course. He never could.

He sighed as he realized he really shouldn't be there when she woke up, which would be any minute now. The first time he had seen her at rest was when she thought he was in the hospital. He'd let her have that for a little bit longer.

He stood again, only moments after sitting down. Jaune padded carefully towards his door, and reached out gingerly towards his handle.

"Jaune?" A soft voice sounded behind him just as he rested his hand on the knob, ready to turn. Jaune's heart leapt, he hadn't heard that voice for days, but he would never forget it. He turned around hopefully, his heart somewhere in his throat.

"Pyrrha?"

Pyrrha lay on her bed, eyes closed, hoping that if she listened to Nora's rhythmic snoring for long enough she might pass out. She had gone to bed peacefully for the first time in a long while the previous night, but her body had gotten used to the meagre two or three hours of sleep she had been getting recently. So there she lay, probably only a few hours after midnight, hoping to slip into the world of dreams once more. This was a point Pyrrha was somewhat stubborn on. She finally felt better about Jaune, or a little anyways, and refused to have another restless night.

Whether it was will or the exhaustion of the past week, Pyrrha eventually felt her eyes start to stay closed without her having to keep them shut. She yawned widely as she felt her mind slipping back into the peaceful rest of her dreams.

_She lay on a field of soft grass, breathing deeply, letting the fresh air fill her lungs. She sighed as she breathed out, opening her eyes. The sky above her was a deep blue, and it reminded her of Jaune's eyes. For some reason, she felt sad at that, but looked over at the blond beside her and immediately felt better. His head rolled to the side, looking back at her and he smiled. _

_Pyrrha wasn't the kind of girl to indulge herself much, but every moment with Jaune seemed to be for her. It filled her with such happiness, and it felt so _right _to be beside him. She smiled softly back at Jaune, and reached out to take his hand. For the life of her, Pyrrha couldn't figure out why this was making her sad. Why was this peaceful setting, this perfect moment, filling her with such dread and worry. _

_She caught a flicker of a shadow in her vision, but when she looked up, there was nothing but grassy fields stretching out as far as she could see. When she looked back down at Jaune, though her heart dropped, and Pyrrha almost screamed. _

_Her hand was holding a small knife, and it was buried in Jaune's stomach. His hands were wrapped around her own, and he stared down in disbelief. Pyrrha tried to let go of the blade in her hands, but she couldn't. She felt someone behind her, and strong arms wrapped around her, pressing the knife further into Jaune. He looked up at Pyrrha, his mouth agape in shock. _

_"Why?" Was all he said as his blood flowed over her hands. Pyrrha was sobbing now, trying to pull the knife away, but it wouldn't move. _

_"Don't fight it, Pyrrha. This was all your choice after all." Cardin breathed into her ear from behind, pressing against her so that the knife pushed further into her partner. He twisted her arms, making the knife turn inside Jaune, who cried out in pain. "A week left, and you can't figure out how to beat me or help him. You've had a whole week, Pyrrha. Aren't you supposed to be strong and smart? Or maybe you've never been strong enough or smart enough for anyone other than yourself. Jaune's always had a big enough heart for everyone, and despite his weakness, you know he'd give everything for you. You know that, and you still can't save him." Pyrrha was sobbing heavily by now, struggling for breath. _

_"You've never been strong enough."_

_"Despite all your fame and power, you're not smart enough." _

_The blood pooled around Pyrrha and sobs wracked her body as she tried desperately to pull the knife away, but she couldn't do anything. If anything, it seemed to be sinking in further. _

_"You've never cared enough, have you?" _

_Jaune touched her arm one last time, a tear streaking down his cheek. The message in his eyes was clear. _Why?

_"You're just not good enough, and Jaune's going to leave because of it."_

_"He'll have nothing." _

_"And it will all be your fault." _

Pyrrha jolted awake, her heart thumping against her chest and feeling her eardrums. She didn't make any noise, Pyrrha never made noise, but it was still a violent awakening. She had to look around and take in her room to reassure herself that it was all real, that she wasn't still dreaming. She couldn't take anymore nightmares.

She looked over at the bed beside her own, and it was empty of course. It was Jaune's bed, and he was still in the hospital. She looked around and spotted Ren and Nora before her gaze started drifting around, her heart still beating hard. She took in the shaded walls, slowly making her way around the room until her gaze came to rest on the door, and the blond boy reaching out to open the door.

"Jaune?" Pyrrha asked, hardly able to believe her eyes. She almost choked out a sob of relief when he turned to face her. It was him, Jaune, and he was alright. He wasn't covered in blood, he didn't have a knife buried in his stomach. Other than the sling on his left arm, he seemed perfectly healthy.

"Pyrrha?" He asked, his voice catching slightly as he turned to face her.

Even in the dim moonlight emanating from the window, Pyrrha could see the tenseness of his body and shoulders. Worse though was the pain in his eyes. She may not have stabbed him with a knife, but that didn't mean she hadn't been twisting things inside of him. Pyrrha choked up, unable to answer, lowering her head and clenching her fists as she fought to stay in control. She heard his footsteps getting closer, and each one felt like a punch to the gut. She wanted to yell at him to go away, before she hurt him anymore, but she was so relieved to see him alright that she couldn't bring herself to let him out of her sight.

"Hey, it's alright Pyrrha." He sat down on the bed next to her, and Pyrrha tucked her knees up to her chest. She didn't know why she was having so many issues right now, but she was struggling to maintain her composed demeanor. Jaune wrapped one arm around her shoulders, and Pyrrha leaned into him, allowing his presence to wash over her.

"I'm so sorry Jaune," She managed to choke out, her voice cracking at the end. She was so relieved to feel his body next to hers, so solid and real. Relief and guilt washed over her, but Pyrrha couldn't bring herself to move away.

"It's alright Pyrrha. I know it's not your fault. I don't know what's going on but we'll fix it, I promise." Pyrrha wrapped her arms around him as he stroked her shoulder gently. She felt vulnerable and exposed, as though the night terrors had ripped away all the walls she had worked to build up her entire life, but Jaune was making that go away. He was grounding her.

"What about the tournament, Jaune?" She asked after a pause. His thumb stopped rubbing her shoulder at the question, and Pyrrha immediately missed the comforting gesture.

"Don't worry about that right now." He said, and the stroking resumed. Pyrrha decided not to ask anymore questions. She squeezed Jaune, making sure this was still real. The world still felt hazy around her, but she didn't want to let this go."You need some rest, try to get some sleep." Jaune moved to take his arm away from her shoulder but she grabbed it and pressed it back against her arm.

"Jaune?"

"Yes?"

"Can you stay with me please?" Pyrrha didn't want to say, but she was terrified. She would never be able to sleep with the threat of her nightmares lying behind the veil of sleep. With Jaune there, though, she might actually be able to rest. Despite the guilt she felt for even being near him, knowing that if Cardin found out Jaune's life would be over, his presence calmed her. It always had, and in her sleep deprived and terrified mind, this was justifiable.

He didn't reply, but slid his legs up onto the bed, pulling her with him. She lay with her back pressed into his chest and his arm resting on her side. There was something intimate about it, but Pyrrha refused to think about that. She felt bad enough being near him as it was. With Jaune next to her, it took no time for Pyrrha to relax, drifting slowly into a peaceful slumber.

Blake's eyes opened slowly, struggling to focus. She was lying sideways in a very comfortable and familiar bed. She saw an 'achieve men' poster in the corner and eyed it suspiciously. She was back in her room at Beacon, but she had no idea how she had gotten there.

After the explosion the previous night, Blake had forced herself to run through the forest. Her legs were on the verge of collapsing the entire time as she whipped past the trees, running for her life. She had known that if her pursuers had caught her, there would be no mercy. The White Fang didn't give seconds chances, yet she had gotten one with Adam. She would not get a third.

She had run for hours, making her way towards the edge of Beacon. She had reached the gate in an exhausted stupor, and staggered through the winding stone paths of her school. She remembered seeing the light of the fountain, and struggling to get there. She had gotten there just as her legs collapsed, and then Blake didn't remember anything.

She tried to roll over and get out of bed, seeing that the sun was already high in the sky. As she moved though, her side flared up in pain and she cried out. She muffled herself as she writhed on her bed, trying frantically to force the pain away. She pushed her covers off, looking down to examen her side. She was wearing her pajamas, and Blake would have been severely pissed off about someone having undressed and redressed her if it weren't for the hole in her side.

Right, the gun shot.

It wasn't really a hole anymore, but it was a bloody mess now. It had been almost healed when she went on her 'mission' the previous day, but the wound had reopened. Blake wasn't sure if it was the marathon she had run to get to Beacon or the explosion she had been in, or maybe both, but she had definitely messed herself up bad. She sighed as she dropped back onto the pillow.

Her ears twitched as she picked up the sound of two feet alighting on the floor. Someone had dropped down beside her from the bed above her, and Blake's heart sank. She knew who it would be, and she had to take a deep breath to stop the tears from springing into her eyes right away.

She looked sideways. The girl beside her was truly a sight to see. Leather boots melding into long, pale and toned legs. A pair of spandex shorts under a short leather skirt tilted at a noticeable angle. The slightest hint of a strong, toned midriff poked out beneath her leather jacket. She had her hands balled into fists, resting on her cocked hips. Long blonde haired flowed behind the girl, and it was seeing this that Blake knew she was in trouble. The tips of the normally golden hair were burning white hot, and Blake forced herself to look up into Yang's eyes.

They were a dark shade of crimson.

"Blake Belladonna, you have a lot of explaining to do."

**Wow! I'm back again, sorry for the long gap in posting. As I'm sure many of you understand, this is a busy time of year. What little time I've had, I've been splitting between this fic and another one I'm working on. The new one will have a much more structured layout (as in I'm actually planning this one) and cover a heavier, grander story arc. As such, it's taken me a long time to wrap this chapter up, and even then it's a bit shorter than usual. The proofreading was a little rushed, as I wanted to get it released ASAP, so I apologize for what I'm guessing will be an increase in errors. Sorry. From now on, I'm thinking about a week between releases, which saddens me to say. Feel like I'm letting people down here, so sorry for that too. Other than that, though, I hope you all enjoy the chapter. Liked writing this one with that little moment between Pyrrha and Jaune! As always, comments, suggestions or advice are warmly welcomed! **


	15. Chapter 15

Pyrrha's eyes opened slowly as she looked happily at the wall across from her. She woke feeling rested and content, a feeling that was unusual and distant now. She felt something on her waist, and looked down to see the sleeve of a white hoodie lying comfortingly on her side, and Pyrrha froze. Realizing who it must be, Pyrrha rolled over and found herself face to face with a dozing Jaune. Her heart jolted, and Pyrrha wasn't sure if it was excitement or panic. Her mind went into overdrive, buzzing with a million thoughts, but one stood out amongst the rest.

What on Remnant had she done?

Pyrrha slid herself lightly and gingerly away from her partner, careful not to disturb his rest despite the frantic panic gripping her chest. If he woke up, Pyrrha would be in a very awkward and touchy predicament indeed. She held his arm up as she slid out from under her covers, laying it gently down where she had just been sleeping. The moment his arm made contact with the bed, Pyrrha bolted for her normal clothes and dashed into the bathroom, locking the door behind her.

She threw her clothes into a heap by the shower and grabbed the edges of the sink, squeezing at the smooth porcelain. She clenched her eyes shut, taking rapid, deep breaths. She needed to calm down, center herself, and then decide how to mitigate the damage she had just done. She berated herself mentally, angered by her lack of discretion. She had been terrified the previous night, true, but that was no excuse for making such a horrifically monumental mistake. Her action may have jeopardized any chance Jaune had at staying at the school.

She opened her eyes, staring at herself in the mirror. Her hair was still orderly, slung over one shoulder and falling in smooth curls down to her waist. Her face wasn't gaunt, and her figure hadn't slimmed noticeably (though Pyrrha's trained eye could see that she was, in fact, skinnier). She couldn't help feel that there was something off with her appearance, however, as though she were sick or something. Pyrrha then locked eyes with herself, and realized the issue.

Her eyes were glassy and pained, making it seem as though something deep inside her had been broken, and it had been. That was her issue. She needed to make herself look alive again, despite something inside her being, in all reality, broken. She felt the pain in her chest as though someone had actually stabbed her there, but she knew it had nothing to do with anything physical. It was all in her mind, her sorrow about what was happening with her partner.

She hadn't confided in anyone, and wasn't likely to ever let it show, but her distance from Jaune recently was shredding her up inside. She could hardly make it through a day without choking up and almost crying, and then every single night the nightmares came. Pyrrha felt exposed, vulnerable, and terrified. Jaune was on the cusp of losing everything he wanted. Beacon, his friends and his chance to prove his worth were all tied to the tournament at the end of the year as well as Pyrrha's ability to stay away from him no matter how much it hurt.

In her own way, Pyrrha was on the edge of losing everything she cared for too. She had her fighting abilities, a great gift in its own right, and that would never leave her, but the rest of it was slipping away. Pyrrha had been incredibly lonely before coming to Beacon and making friends. She had lived surrounded by everyone who knew her name, but no one had really cared to know her. She was a celebrity, admired, but never loved. People were too intimidated, she supposed, to approach her.

When she had met Jaune, however, he hadn't known her. He had hit on her along with Weiss, and the experience had been one of Pyrrha's most treasured moments. It was perhaps the first time she had been approached as a normal person, as herself rather than the celebrity athlete everyone knew. Weiss had almost ruined it by chastising Jaune and making him feel like both their subordinates, but when they had become partners in the Emerald Forest, that was quickly forgotten. He had put on a macho face, and pretended that she was no more skilled than he at dealing with, well, everything that initiation threw at them. The experience had been baffling, but touching and endearing.

After that, it had just become normal. With the addition of her new teammates and their budding friendship with team RWBY, Jaune had just treated her normally. He knew she was a celebrity of course, but he never seemed to think of it twice. To him, it was just a part of who she was, and he actually saw her for the person she was. Pyrrha had treasured that above all else. His attitude had carried over to the rest of teams JNPR and RWBY, and Pyrrha hadn't felt alone for the first time in her life.

Now though, that was all teetering on the edge of reality. Whether or not Jaune stayed at Beacon, Pyrrha couldn't deny that she was pushing him away, and as a result, the rest of her friends. Everything she had come to love about Beacon rested with Jaune, and she was hurting him more than he ever deserved. Everything Pyrrha wanted, everything he had given her, she was throwing in the dust. She rationalized that it was for his own good, but the pain in his eyes every time she saw him made her doubt herself. The things Pyrrha wanted were now negligible, that was clear. She didn't deserve the group of friends she had been blessed with anymore, and so it came back to Jaune. It always came back to Jaune for Pyrrha.

She sighed, looking away from herself in the mirror. She slipped off her nightwear and climbed into the shower. She turned the water to hot in favor of her normal cold shower. She hoped the warm water might help to wash away her sorrows, but of course it didn't. She let the scalding water run over her smooth skin for longer than normal, then turned the shower back to cold. The frigid water pricked at her skin, but she didn't mind. She always took showers like this. She washed up quickly, then got out of the shower, towelling off quickly.

She brushed her hair out with her fingers, then put it in its usual pony tail. She donned her normal clothing, which was in reality armour, then put on her circlet. Pyrrha checked herself in the mirror again, making sure she looked normal. Despite her hair and outfit being styled exactly as it was every day, she still didn't look right. It was her eyes again, still shattered like fragments of glass.

She sighed once again, berating herself for her sadness. She didn't have the right to feel sad anymore. She had given that up when she had hurt Jaune. Despite her mental chastising, however, she still felt as though someone had eviscerated her insides. She felt like she had a massive void in her stomach, and her heart felt strained, as though it would snap at any moment. This, coupled with her mental anguish, made Pyrrha feel as though she wanted to fade out of existence. Things would probably be better if she were gone anyhow. Jaune would be facing expulsion due to the tournament, but he wouldn't have to deal with Pyrrha and all the pain she was causing him. She was certain he would do fine in the tournament anyhow. Jaune may not realize it yet, but he was one of the most naturally talented fighters at Beacon. He had only been training for a few months now, and already he was almost at the same level as people who had been training for years.

She moved away from the mirror, and grabbed hold of the door, twisting it open. She walked past her bed, forcing herself to keep her eyes locked on the exit of the room rather than drifting back to Jaune. She knew if she saw him again, she wouldn't be able to stop herself from going to him a second time. Last night had been bad enough, and Pyrrha couldn't allow that to happen again. She wished she could spend every single night that way, but she knew she couldn't. Not with the threat of Jaune being thrown out of Beacon looming over her. She came to the room's door and rested her hand on it, squeezing her eyes shut. She had to fight down a rush of emotion as she turned the doorknob and stepped outside, unintentionally slamming the door behind her.

She turned away, her eyes tearing up. A lone tear streaked down the side of her face, and Pyrrha brought her hand up to brush it away as she walked briskly away from her room. Away from Jaune.

"First, are you alright?"

Despite the kind and gentle nature of the question, Yang's eyes still burned like hot coals, the red irises seething with unbridled anger. Blake wasn't sure how to answer. Flashes of different emotions kept ripping through her unceasingly, and Blake couldn't stay on one long enough to come up with an answer.

"I, I think I'm alright." She finally managed to stutter out, lowering her eyes. The guilt buried inside her stomach wouldn't allow her to meet her partner's gaze any longer. Yang didn't say anything for awhile, but Blake was still acutely aware of the dazzling blonde sitting next to her on the bed.

"Jaune said he found you collapsed by the fountain. What the hell were you doing?" Yang said, and Blake thought she caught a wisp of worry in her partner's voice. It was hardly noticeable behind the cold, steely tone Yang had taken on, but Blake caught it.

And it made her sick.

With their previous encounter in the forest, Blake had come away feeling twisted and wrong, but determined. She had thought that if she just finished it, killed her ties to the White Fang, she could come back to Beacon and patch things up. Now she had given the White Fang every reason to hunt her down as well as having shunned the life she had built up here at Beacon.

She couldn't forgive herself for making Yang, the person who meant more to her than anyone else, worry on top of Blake having essentially turned her back on the blonde.

"I was running," Blake finally answered Yang's question. "I-I stopped them. This was the only place I could think of I could go. I don't exactly have a lot of safe places. Yang, I'm so sorry. I won't ever forgive myself for what I've done, and I don't expect you to forgive me eith-"

"Don't expect me to." Yang cut her off harshly. The two were silent, then Yang came close, wrapping her arms around Blake. "Dust, Blake, I was so worried. When I came to get you, I could see the fear in your eyes. You thought you genuinely had to do what you were going to." Relief washed through Blake at her partners words. She looked at her partner, whose eyes had returned to a normal, deep lilac. Butterflies fluttered through Blake's stomach involuntarily as she took in her partner beside her. "I'm glad you came to your senses though. So tell me what happened." Blake sighed heavily, preparing herself to tell her tale.

"We went out late in the night. My side still hurt, but waiting until dawn would mean sacrificing any advantage we would have over humans with our night vision. Adam wouldn't tell me where we were going, or what he planned to do. That should have sent some alarm bells ringing in my head, but it all felt so familiar. I've tried leaving my time in the White Fang behind me, but it was still a big part of my life, so I figured it was a need to know kind of thing. Normally when we went on missions, I wouldn't even have to ask. I'd just show up and follow Adam's lead. He was a mentor to me in a way, I suppose. All he told me was there was a lot of security, and that's all I needed to know.

"I tripped a security trap, and we had to fight androids as we closed in on our target. It was a simple shack, and I didn't think there could possibly be anything harmful that could be done. When we got inside though, we found a trap door to a room filled with dust, and I mean filled, Yang. Piles twenty feet high of pure crystals. It's the biggest quarry I've ever seen.

"But we weren't the only White Fang there. Adam had signaled for more to follow us, and they brought charges. They would have blown it all up, eradicating anything within the blast radius. With that much dust, anyone who worked there would have died. Hundreds of lives. I couldn't let that happen, so I stole the charges and ran. They followed me, but I lost them. At that point, I checked the charges and realized that they were about to detonate. I tried to throw them away, but I was still hit with the blast. Knowing they would come towards the sound, I had to run. So I did. I ran all the way to Beacon. I was exhausted, and I guess I must have fallen over at the fountain. I'm glad Jaune found me."

Blake finished explaining the abbreviated versions of her story. She purposefully left out how at home she had felt on the mission. Yang was still beside her, and if Blake closed her eyes she could have sworn she was the only one there. She couldn't possibly know what was happening in her partner's mind, and that worried Blake. Yang finally straightened, and Blake could sense that her partner was about to talk.

"Blake, they'll be coming after you. We need to tell Ruby and Weiss what's happening, maybe they can help." Blake adamantly shook her head. She looked at her partner, willing her to understand.

"Yang, we can't tell them. Anyone who knows about this can be put in the line of fire. It's bad enough that I told you, and I only did that because-" Blake cut herself off before she could finish the thought. _-I love you, and I want to trust you with everything._ She doubted Yang would be open to that sentiment right now. "No. We can't tell Weiss and Ruby."

"Fine," Yang's voice was filled with exasperation. "I'm not going to fight you on this." Blake looked over as her partner stood, walking away from her. As she reached out to turn the door handle, Blake was suddenly overcome with the desire not to be alone again.

"Yang..." Blake's question died on her lips after the first word, but Yang turned around and read the unasked question in her eyes.

"You still chose them over us, Blake. Ever since this started you've had a foot half out the door. I just can't look past you choosing _him_ over _me_." Yang accentuated the last phrase, and the truth of it bit Blake deep. "Until you can start trusting us, I don't think there can be anything between us. I'm glad you're back and you're alright, but you killed anything there was between us."

With that, Yang shut the door behind her, leaving Blake as alone as she had felt her entire life. She curled her knees into her chest, wresting her head on top of them. The tears started to fall, but Blake barely felt them. It was entirely her fault, and she didn't deserve Yang, she knew that, but she had to try. She wanted so bad for everything to be alright between the two again. Just last week they had sat on the fringe of Forever Fall and watched the petals fall endlessly as they cuddled. The memory ripped Blake's heart open again, sending a rush of sadness through the girl. She sobbed harder, but the tears falling did nothing to wash away her misery as they soaked into her clothes.

Jaune rolled over, rubbing the sleep from his eyes. He looked across the room and saw his bed opposite him. That made Jaune pause for a moment. His foggy mind couldn't figure out why he, lying down in a another bed, was looking at his own bed. He sat up, frowning, still studying his bed intently.

Then realization hit him as he remembered where he had spent his last few hours of rest. He could still smell the soft scent of juniper berries drifting off of the pillow where she had lain her head that night. Jaune couldn't help but let a smile grace his lips as he looked down at the bed he was on.

He had spent the night sleeping alongside Pyrrha. With everything that had happened lately, this seemed like the least likely outcome, and it filled Jaune with a giddy joy. His heart lifted a little from the dark stupor it had been for the past week. The intimacy he had shared with Pyrrha that morning made something inside Jaune stir that he hadn't felt since they stayed up late finishing professor Port's project together. It was a rekindling of those intimate moments Jaune had enjoyed so much before all of this had begun.

He looked back at his own bed, and noticed something he hadn't before. Near the head of the bed was a small wooden engraving. Jaune sat up and walked over to the bed and knelt down beside it. Jaune's heart skipped a beat at what he saw. It was a Jaune's symbol, two crescents facing downwards, one on top of another. It was different though, with a circle drawn around them and a spear superimposed over them. Pyrrha's symbol.

Jaune wasn't certain what to think. The symbol was certainly a powerful message. A person's symbol was exceptionally personal, partially defining who they were as a person. Jaune's came from a long line of prestigious war heroes, and Pyrrha's came from her weapon of choice. She had chosen to engrave the two together in Jaune's bed.

A flare of hope began to burn deep inside of Jaune's chest. The symbol represented their special bond as partners and whatever else they were. She had put it in an area he would find it, and it immediately calmed the uneasiness that had building inside of him. It was reassuring, in a way. It showed that no matter how cold Pyrrha was acting, it was an act. No matter how much it hurt him that she was staying away, they would always be partners. She hadn't let that go yet.

Jaune stood, knowing exactly what he had to do. He grabbed Crocea Mors from the on top of his bed where presumably his team had placed it. He strapped it to his waist, then walked out of the room, closing it behind him. He walked through the halls of Beacon towards the cafeteria. He wasn't sure where to find Cardin Winchester, but he figured that it was close enough to lunch that the large leader of team CRDL would show up.

Jaune entered the cafeteria, spotting his friends at one of the tables. He didn't see Cardin anywhere, so decided to join them. He sat down beside Nora, who had apparently just finished telling everyone about some fantastical story as Ruby was starring enthralled at the orange haired girl. Ren rolled his eyes, probably tired of correcting every statement Nora made, and Yang sat looking upset. _But Yang's never upset. _He thought to himself, troubled by his friend's discontentment.

"Hey everyone!" He called as he took his seat. Ruby broke into a smile

"Jaune! You're looking better!" The younger girl squealed excitedly.

"Feeling a lot better too." He replied honestly, though he wasn't referring to his injury. His sleeping arrangements that morning as well as a certain wooden engraving had left his spirits high, and other than not being able to find Cardin, Jaune was feeling excellent. "I guess you could say my arm feeling better has made me humerus."

Jaune knew the pun was weak. It was his shoulder that had been hurt anyway, but he hoped it might provoke Yang into berating him. He looked at her pointedly, and her eyes flared momentarily, but the light died almost immediately.

"Good one, Jaune." She mumbled, then scooped a spoonful of cereal into her mouth, returning to her previous brooding. He momentarily wondered why she was eating cereal at lunch before returning to more serious thoughts. Jaune frowned. Something was clearly bothering Yang, and for the first time in a week Jaune wasn't so consumed with misery that he actually noticed. He decided to talk to her after lunch.

"Incorrect Yang," Weiss cut in before turning her icy gaze back to Jaune. "It's not even your arm that was hurt in the fight you dunce. That was quite possibly the worst joke I've ever heard."

"Whoa, Weiss. Go easy on the guy." Ruby sprung to his defence. "Making a joke that bad, he probably has some brain damage."

"Hey!" Jaune responded incredulously, offended at the defence-turned-insult. "No fair, two against one. Ren, Nora, any help?" Jaune asked, turning towards his teammates. Nora shook her head profusely and violently.

"This one's all yours, Jaune." Ren said simply, turning back to his lunch. Jaune let his good shoulder slump in defeat.

"Alright, make yourselves feel good by picking on the guy who just got out of the hospital."

The meal continued, a little bit of joking coming up. Jaune tried a few times to bait Yang into talking, but the blonde haired girl never responded. He found out that Blake had disappeared a few days ago while he was in the medical wing, which accounted for Ruby's reaction when he had shown up basically dragging the girl behind him.

Ren and Nora were the first to leave, the excitable girl dragging Ren out of the cafeteria toward the air docks where they were going to catch a ship into to town. They were going to see a documentary on sloths that Ruby had said she had heard about, joking that there would probably be no one there. At the mention of sloths, Nora had gotten extra excited. Ren had sighed and simply asked why Ruby had to bring up sloths.

Weiss excused her and Ruby saying they had some studying to do. Ruby's face fell, and Jaune was going to point out that it was only saturday. Anticipating his response, Weiss simply glared at him, effectively silencing him.

"Maybe I'll tag along." Yang said, the first words she had spoken in a while.

"Sure," Weiss said, already starting to walk away. Ruby sighed and followed, but when Yang began to stand, Jaune reached out and grabbed her hand. Out of the corner of his eye he saw Cardin leave the cafeteria. He had missed the boy's entry, but Cardin could wait. Jaune had his friend to help first.

"Yang, wait." The other blonde paused, looking back at Jaune. "What's wrong? I thought you'd be more pleased today, after all, your girlfriend's back." Yang cringed, her muscles tensing. This definitely had something to do with Blake.

"She's not my girlfriend anymore." Yang answered. Jaune's stomach dropped in sympathy. That was the last thing he had been expecting to hear. Stunned, his grip on Yang's arm loosened and she pulled away. She walked away from where he sat, leaving Jaune alone on the bench. He could have sworn that he had seen a tint of red in her eyes as she stormed off.

Blake wasn't sure how long she had been there, crying. The tears had long since dried up, but she had still sat there, heaving dry sobs wracking her frame as the anguish overcame her. Every time she felt the sadness start to go away, a memory of her times with Yang, or thoughts of the blonde's soft smile, or her deep lilac eyes would send Blake back into a spiral of self hate, shame and misery.

Eventually, though, another though began to gnaw away at her thoughts. The White Fang. They would still be coming after her, and Adam knew exactly where to find her. They would come to her, and rip up her entire life at Beacon to get to her. She had no doubt that they would make an example of her, having defied them not once, but twice. They would find her at Beacon, and no matter how hard she fought, they would take her eventually. She had no doubt they would make her death very painful, and likely very public.

The only way to escape that is if she wasn't at Beacon at all.

Without Yang, what was the point in staying anyways?

**Were hitting the home stretch ladies and gentlemen. I'm sorry for the chapter being a bit slow and uneventful, but I've been working towards a few big things that should make up for it. All I have to say is Jaune's going to have an exciting day soon. Again, hope you're all enjoying the read! If any of you wonderful people have any thoughts, comments or suggestions, these are all more than welcome! See you all at the next chapter. **


	16. Chapter 16

The soft leaves rustled in the breeze as Pyrrha sat on the warm summer grass just outside of Beacon. She had fled to the roof initially, but had reconsidered. If Jaune felt the same anxiousness as she did about what had happened earlier that morning, it was likely that he too would seek refuge in their favorite spot. When she realized this, Pyrrha quickly made her way towards the entrance of Beacon, sliding down beside the gate to lie in the grass.

She had been there for quite some time, unable to force herself to go back in and face Jaune. Pyrrha didn't trust herself around her partner after what had just happened, and if he tried to talk to her again, she didn't know if she would be able to turn him away again. Though she wanted nothing more than to give in and tell him everything from how she felt to what Cardin had done. If she said anything at all and Cardin found out, though, Goodwitch would have Jaune flying away from Beacon before she would even be able to say goodbye.

So she had stayed there in the field, trying to keep her mind from drifting back to her current situation, and found that no matter how much she thought of weapon designs, fighting techniques, or even reminisced about her home in Mistral, she kept coming back to thoughts of Jaune. Sometimes it was joyful, thinking about their brief moment of contentment earlier or their nights spent together studying and training; other times, and more often, it was of regret, sadness and self-loathing at the pain she had caused him.

Pyrrha had always made sure she did what was best for others, it was the most reasonable thing she could think of to do with her natural gifts. Now though, she was walking a grey line, where no matter what she did she was hurting people. Or more pointedly, one person.

Pyrrha sighed, rolling into a sitting position. She arched her back, stretching, allowing her spine to pop in a few places. She considered going into the school to do a little training, after all, the tournament was now only a few days away. The thought of the deadline on the tournament sent a pang of guilt streaking through the redhead, and she pushed the thoughts from her mind, shaking her head to clear it.

Pyrrha stood straight up from her sitting position, not bothering to use her arms. She looked out around Beacon, marveling slightly at how incredible it truly looked. Beacon was a fortress and a school, and Pyrrha was still awed slightly every time she looked up at the massive spire in the centre of the school.

She caught a flicker of movement out of the corner of her eye as she looked up at Beacon, and turned her attention to the pathway in front of her. To her surprise, Pyrrha found Blake striding towards her, eyes ragged and red around the edges. The faunus had obviously been crying, and she glared straight ahead. Blake was obviously angered.

"Blake?" Pyrrha called out to her friend, but Blake didn't make any indication she had heard. She continued walking, and Pyrrha had to throw herself into the middle of the pathway, right in front of the girl, to get her to stop.

"What?" Pyrrha had never heard Blake's voice so hostile and filled with hurt before. The young woman glared into Pyrrha's emerald eyes with her own amber ones, challenging the redhead to make a move. Pyrrha was slightly taken aback but Blake's hostility.

"What's the matter?" She asked gently, keeping a light tone, hoping it would ease Blake out of her mood.

"Hmph," was Blake's only response before she marched forward, barging past Pyrrha.

"Wait!" Pyrrha called after her, but Blake didn't pause. The faunus kept moving away, untouched by Pyrrha's words. "Where are you going?"

At this Blake stiffened and stopped. Her muscles locked and tensed, Blake tucked her head sideways so the Pyrrha could just barely make out her burning amber eyes.

"Away. For good this time." Blake turned again and started stalking away, her footsteps echoing across the paved stone pathway. Pyrrha jogged after her catching up in a few strides. She reached out and grabbed Blake's shoulder.

"What do you mean?" Pyrrha asked, trying to get Blake to listen to her. The other girl sounded serious about going, which worried Pyrrha.

"Let go of me." Blake practically growled, her bow flattening against her head.

"No," Pyrrha answered forcefully. There was no way she would let her friend walk away like this. Blake was too angry, and Pyrrha knew that Blake did not make good decisions when she was upset.

"Pyrrha-"

"No. Not until you calm down and tell me what's going on."

The two were perfectly still for a moment, and Pyrrha felt Blake starting to give in. Her muscles relaxed slightly, and Blake turned towards her. Blake's eyes were puffy, but more than that Pyrrha saw something that made her heart break. In the other girl's eyes was the same shattered, fragmented look that Pyrrha had seen in herself in the mirror that morning. Blake wasn't angry at all, she was broken, just like Pyrrha. Blake must have seen the same look in her eyes, as her harsh gaze softened slightly. Unlike the redhead though, the faunus was more impulsive, and by the look of it, she was going to run. There was only one person who could possibly do that to Blake.

"It's Yang, isn't it?" Pyrrha asked. Blake's gaze dropped from her eyes, and Pyrrha's heart went out to her friend. Blake nodded, and the utter defeat in the girl's posture made Pyrrha's chest clench in sympathy.

"We're finished. She doesn't want to see me anymore." Blake's voice ached with sorrow and heartbreak. Pyrrha knew how she felt to an extent, but Blake seemed to be in more anguish than Pyrrha had ever been.

"I'm sorry," Pyrrha said lightly, trying to let her genuine sympathy show. "It must hurt."

"You have no idea." Blake said darkly, eyes flaring as she turned away from Pyrrha.

"I think I do, actually." Pyrrha was surprised at the pain in her voice. It had not been intentionally shown. Blake turned back to face her, their eyes locking briefly. "You can't run Blake. You'd be ripping apart everything you hold dear at Beacon. What about Ruby and Weiss? Ren, Jaune and Nora? You have friends here. You can't just leave them."

"I don't expect you to understand." Blake clenched her fists as she talked. "But I have to. It's not just Yang, there's more to it."

"Something that would make you turn your back on everyone you love?" The question seemed to bring pause to Blake.

"What's the point of fighting for those I love if they don't love me back?" Pyrrha did not miss the abandonment in Blake's voice.

"They do love you back. I don't know what happened between you and Yang, but she still loves you. There's nothing in the world you could have ever done to make her stop caring. I've seen you two together. Things might be rough now, and they could be rough for a while, but if you try hard enough, maybe you can make it work." Pyrrha could see the tears in Blake's eyes, threatening to spill over at any moment.

"It's not just Yang. Every second I'm here, I'm putting you all in danger. If I don't leave, I don't know what's going to happen. If I run, then at least you'll all be safe." Pyrrha was taken aback. She had no idea what Blake was talking about, but it was clear that something big was going on.

"If it was Yang in trouble, would you help her through whatever it is if she asked you?" Blake cringed at the mention of her girlfriend's name.

"I would stay beside her until I died." The absolute devotion that Blake was admitting right now hit Pyrrha hard. She wondered if anyone could ever feel that way for her, one in particular, but guiltily pushed the selfish thought aside.

"Your friends would do the same for you, Blake. All you have to do is ask. You'll never be alone here." Blake was still, and Pyrrha saw a tear leak out of the girl's eye. It streaked down her cheek, and Blake brushed it away hurriedly.

"How can I expect them to do that though? After all I've done." Her voice trailed off as she spoke, becoming a soft whisper.

"Because they're your friends. They'll forgive you, no matter what. Blake, if you leave, that's what you're leaving behind. It won't be running from Yang, it'll be running away from the people who accept you. You'd hurt them more than you could ever justify."

"And what would you know about hurting people?" Blake's voice was venomous, but Pyrrha detected a hint of jealousy in there.

"More than I wish to." Pyrrha said, casting her head aside. Saying it out loud brought the shame and guilt of what she had done back to her. "Don't leave Blake. I'm going to stay here as long as it takes until you're ready to come back inside."

With nothing left to say, Pyrrha stepped away from Blake. The faunus seemed calmer now, which was a start. Pyrrha fell back a few steps cautiously, watching her friend to see if Blake would start away again. To her relief though, Blake didn't even look away from Beacon. The dark haired girl just stood there, deep in thought.

Pyrrha stood to the side for a few minutes, watching Blake. She had no idea what her friend was thinking, but wouldn't leave her while she was in such obvious distress. WIth Blake showing no sign of moving, Pyrrha backed herself into the wall surrounding Beacon, sliding down it. She didn't know how long it would be, but she would stay there as long as was necessary to make sure Blake didn't go anywhere. She figured she might as well get comfortable.

Blake finally moved, and Pyrrha was broken from her reverie. She had been thinking about Jaune again, of course. Blake took a few swift but unhurried steps until she was beside Pyrrha. The redhead looked beside her as the brunette slid down beside her.

"Don't let yourself lose Jaune, Pyrrha." The words surprised her. Blake's voice was dead tired, but there was a sincerity to them. Pyrrha opened her mouth to retort, say that she and Jaune weren't even together, but Blake held up her hand. "I know how you look at him, how you feel. Don't lose it Pyrrha. You don't ever want to know what this is like." There was a silent desperation in Blake's voice.

"I'm afraid I might not have a choice." Pyrrha heard the heartbreak in her own voice. She was afraid that she was already pushing Jaune away too much, that there might be nothing for her to go back to if she ever sorted everything out with Cardin and Jaune.

Blake looked over at her, and Pyrrha met her eyes. She was surprised to see the genuine sympathy and determination behind Blake's eyes. The girl new exactly what was happening to Pyrrha.

"I won't let you." Blake said, then faced away, looking out over the forest of Forever Fall.

Pyrrha turned her attention back out towards the forest. It was beautiful, but the overwhelming beauty was lost on the redhead. She simply watched, entranced, as the leaves twirled around on the eddies in the air. She sat there beside Blake in companionable silence, the two content to sit and watch the trees in a sort of sad peace.

Yang wanted to hit something. She was struggling to stop her hair from flaring up into it's full luminescent glory, and so badly wanted to let it all go. She just wanted to throw her fists into a brick wall, or a Deathstalker, or maybe team CRDL. She really didn't care what it was, but she was in the mood to break _something._

Ever since that morning and her conversation with Blake, Yang had done a good job of ignoring the pain in her stomach; the constant twisting and writhing of guilt and sadness. She had done her best not to think about her girlfriend, or her ex now, she supposed. She had held it together nicely, hardly saying a word. It hadn't taken much to shatter her composure though. Well, if her self-imposed silence and tense mood was what considered to be composure.

It had taken one mention of Blake from vomit-boy. That was it. Yang had stormed off, getting away before Jaune could ask any more questions. She wasn't sure she could stop herself from losing it if she heard another mention of Blake. Especially anything that referenced their previous relationship.

She wished it was still their _current_ relationship.

Yang sighed, the desire to hit something seeping away, replaced by that crushing void in her stomach. She sat on the bench on the side of the pathway she had found herself on. She wasn't sure where in the school she was, and she didn't care much. All she cared about at all right now was Blake, and no matter how much she tried to bury her feelings, it kept coming back to that pit in her stomach, that realization that she didn't have Blake anymore.

All things considered, telling Blake that what had happened was not okay was probably the hardest thing that Yang had had to do since coming to Beacon. Walking away right after had been just as bad. The look on Blake's face, the absolute pain, had made Yang want to sit down beside her partner, hug her and tell her it was okay. She couldn't though. Blake had messed up, and Yang refused to allow herself to let it slide.

She had dated a few guys back at Signal, and she had always done the same thing when they messed up. She walked away, all strings cut nice and clean. She had never had issues walking away from someone when they wronged her.

This time was different though, and that bothered Yang. She _wanted_ to let Blake off easy. She wanted to let everything go back to normal. She wanted so badly to overlook what had happened, but what Blake had done was too much to simply put aside and Yang knew it. No matter what would ever happen, there would always be that seed of doubt, that Blake had chosen to _leave_, to turn her back on her friends, on Yang.

She understood why Blake had done what she had. Blake had thought that there was nothing else she could have done, that working with the White Fang again had been the only way. Yang understood it, but she didn't know how her partner could have ever partnered up with them again. After everything Blake had told her about what she had done with them in the darkest hours of the night, after learning of their involvement with Torchwick, after being blackmailed by her own ex-partner, she had still somehow allowed herself to work with the White Fang. All this, in favor of simply asking her friends for help.

The desire to break something was coming back.

Yang got up and started pacing along the yellow cobblestone road again, her heels clicking on the paved stones. She kept walking, her utter frustration building inside of her. She was now actively thinking about not thinking about Blake to stop her hair from lighting up.

She walked across the front of the training rooms, and paused. She wanted to break something, and what better place to break something than a place where things were meant to be broken?

She entered the building, making her way into the training pit. She pulled off her gauntlets, setting them to the side. Foregoing the normal tape job to support her wrists, Yang stepped straight out onto the floor. There were several punching bags set to the side, and Yang set up a dozen of them in a circle around her. It was funny, most people hated being surrounded in fights. Yang's style almost made her prefer being surrounded.

She took a deep breath, the little voice in the back of her mind telling her that it was always a bad idea to practice with a hot head. _Fuck it_, she thought, allowing her head to quite literally get hot. She had never been one for caution anyhow. As her hair lit up, she could feel her aura burning around her, and knew her eyes would be red right now.

She lunged forward, smashing her fist into the first bag, twisting and elbowing the next one. She jumped across the gap to the opposite side of the circle, unleashing a reverse-roundhouse that would have flattened a Beowolf. She swung hard at the bag just to her side, and felt something in her wrist twist as the blow landed. She didn't care. She continued pounding away on the bags, landing blow after blow on the motionless targets.

It had started to snow, but Yang ignored the white flecks flying around her, in a trance of continuous motion. She kept hitting targets as the snow grew denser around her, but Yang's world had narrowed, and now only two things existed. Her, and her targets. It was the rush of combat that Yang so loved, the world she knew disappearing so that there was only a target and her, hitting the target.

She whirled around, throttling her fist forward. It should have landed squarely in the center of the bag, but as Yang turned she saw that there was no bag there. Her momentum carried her forward, sending her tumbling out of the circle of punching bags that had become her world. She stood there stunned as the snow fell around her, one fleck landing on her arm. She looked down at it as it landed on the smooth skin of her forearm. As it grazed her skin, two things occurred to her.

First, the snow wasn't cold.

Second, she was _inside._

Yang looked around her, and saw a pile of broken bags strewn across the floor, the fluffy, white stuffing floating down from the air where it had been launched in her vicious assault. Yang blinked, a little stunned that she had done all of that without even realizing it.

She did feel a little better though.

"That's gonna be quite the mess to clean up." A voice called from the edge of the pit. Yang looked over to see Jaune, and was immediately on guard.

"I'm fine Jaune, seriously." Yang said, wanting the blond to leave her alone. She didn't want to deal with any heart to hearts right now. Not when she finally blew off a little steam. She just wanted to forget the whole ordeal for a few minutes.

"Whoa! Honestly, I wasn't here to talk to you. I've been looking for Cardin." Jaune said, waving his arms in front of his face in a kind of _don't hit me, please._ gesture.

"Cardin?" Yang's anger dropped for a moment. She wondered briefly if Jaune was in trouble again.

"Yeah, Cardin."

"Gonna need any backup?" Yang asked, a little hopeful. Cardin and his gang weren't particularly strong fighters, and beating the tar out of something other than bags was seriously appealing to her right now. At her words though, Jaune's eyes hardened.

"No, this is something I need to do. Even if it does land me another week-" At the mention of the measurement of time, Jaune's voice cut out. He looked away, apparently troubled. Yang caught a motion out of the corner of her eye.

"Looks like this is your chance then." Yang said as she walked away. Her wrist was really throbbing, but she ignored it. She went and collected her gauntlets as team CRDL entered the room, the door she had seen swing open a moment earlier shutting behind them.

She hurried out the door, leaving Jaune to his business. Normally, she would have stayed around to make sure he was alright, but the pit in her stomach was already starting to come back, and she wanted to get away from any other person at the moment.

She walked over those paved stones that were becoming so quickly familiar, making the rounds of Beacon. She wandered aimlessly, letting her feet lead the way. She didn't know how long she had been walking for, but that frustration and pain was coming back, this time along with the constant throbbing of her wrist.

She really felt like hitting something.

Jaune watched Yang go, his brow creasing. Yang was definitely not having a good time breaking up with Blake, and Jaune didn't think he'd ever seen her that fiercely angered before. Not even when Ruby had snipped the tiniest fraction of a hair off Yang's head at lunch one day. Jaune had never thought he would see anger that intense again, but he had definitely just witnessed something much worse. Yang had practically been glowing when he had entered, sending of light so intense that the entire room had been lit up with blinding white luminescence.

Jaune's head snapped to the side as he saw CRDL walking down the steps that led into the training area. Jaune walked into the middle of it, his eyes locked on Cardin Winchester. His tormentor when he arrived at Beacon, his blackmailer, and now the cause of something so much worse. His separation from Pyrrha. He still had no idea what Cardin did to Pyrrha, but whatever it was, Jaune knew it was Cardin. His words when they had fought in Goodwitch's class had been proof enough of that.

"Cardin," He called out, walking up to the bigger, burly teen. Jaune wasn't intimidated anymore, he was just furious, his voice a low growl. "I thought I told you to leave my teammates, my friends, alone." Jaune practically snarled. Cardin looked him right in the eyes as he spoke, and Jaune saw a smile twitch at the corners of his mouth.

"I'm sure I don't know what you mean, Jauney boy." He answered calmly, but Jaune wasn't dissuaded.

"Cut it, Cardin. I know you did something to Pyrrha." Cardin didn't bother to try hiding his smile when Jaune said that.

"Oh _that,_" Cardin drawled. "That was just a little understanding the two of us reached. I swear I didn't do anything! She's the one who did everything." Jaune's confusion must have been plastered all over his face, as Cardin started cracking up. "Oh, she hasn't told you? I thought she must have, though I guess that's not important really."

"What in Dust did you do?" Jaune's anger was boiling over now. Despite his injured shoulder, Jaune was tempted to draw his sword and go at it with Cardin right there. He wanted to wipe that smug grin off the large teen's face permanently.

"I told you, Jaune. I didn't do anything. Pyrrha's the one who decided not to talk to you anymore. She's the one who can't stand to be near you anymore. She's the one who's distancing herself from you. You probably think no one else can tell, but I see it. Everyone in Beacon does. At lunches she doesn't sit with you, same with classes, you two don't talk at all anymore. Tell me Jaune, how does it feel to be shunted aside like you're worth nothing? I guess it shouldn't surprise you though. She is _Pyrrha Nikos_ after all, why would she ever take a second look at you? I guess she finally got tired of hanging out with the class idiot."

Jaune stomach dropped. The words were like a heavy blow to his stomach, making him want to puke. Cardin had hit upon every one of Jaune's biggest fears. The things that had kept him from sleeping since it had all started. That all of this was really just Pyrrha. He had clung onto the hope that there was a reason for it all, a logical explanation. A reason, other than her disliking him, that she was distancing herself.

He didn't want to believe that that was it though.

"You're wrong." Jaune finally choked out, his voice trembling slightly. He couldn't imagine there was anyway Pyrrha would do that to him. He had treasured all the moments they had shared, she couldn't possibly have just been faking it for all that time.

"I'm not, you can even ask her if you like." Cardin's voice was aloof, and he stepped away from Jaune, nodding to his teammates. Cardin's lackeys moved off, setting up practice equipment. "Now, my boys and I are going to get some training done now. So why don't you move along? Maybe go find your partner, ask her how disappointing it is to be partnered with you, eh?"

Jaune's jaw clenched in anger. He wouldn't believe it.

"I mean you're a failure, and she's perfect." Jaune stiffened all over. That word had been one he had hated his whole life. Failure. It was always what he was afraid to be.

"If you're here to train," Jaune's voice was a dark, steely tone, matching the sound of his metal sword scraping against his sheath as he drew it. "Why not train on me?"

**Sorry for the late upload, things got busy. I will hopefully be able to get another one up soon to get back on schedule. Other than that, I'm enjoying writing this part. I've been working towards the Jaune/Cardin confrontation for way too long now, and it's finally happening! You all get to find out exactly what happens next chapter! Also, finally put some more indication on where the character POV divisions are (if it worked). Took me way too long to do that, I apologize. As always, tips, comments, suggestions and ideas are always appreciated! Anything you have to say is more than welcome! Cheers**

**-Unjax out.**


	17. Chapter 17

Blake opened her eyes, allowing herself to take in her surroundings. She hadn't fallen asleep, but she had tuned out completely. Pyrrha was still sitting next to her, the kind redhead not having moved an inch since they took their places however long ago. Blake clasped her hands above her head and arched her back, stretching from side to side. She was aware that it was a somewhat feline tendency, and would normally avoid it, but she was doing everything to maintain the delicate sense of comfort that had fallen over her.

Blake scanned the forest across from her, letting the beauty of the eternally drifting petals seep into her mind, further reinforcing the peace she felt. She sighed contently, and heard Pyrrha stir beside her. The redhead sat up next to her, neither of them saying a word. Blake was grateful for her companion's discretion, and returned the favor. She was surprised that Pyrrha was the one beside her, having seldom considered she would ever have a meaningful conversation with Pyrrha.

She had nothing against the redhead, but Blake was a rather quiet individual, and Pyrrha was polite but not as outgoing as others. It seemed unlikely that the two would share many words. Blake was glad that they had though; Pyrrha seemed like the only person who could possibly understand her. She wasn't glad that the redheaded warrior understood her, she wouldn't wish that broken, shattered look on anyone, but she was glad that the two had been able to share their sorrows.

Blake had meant what she said earlier. Despite all of her personal issues with Yang and the White Fang, her heart went out to the other girl. The vulnerability that Pyrrha had shown when she spoke of her fear of losing Jaune was so akin to how Blake herself felt after Yang had ended it between them that she was determined not to let Pyrrha's fears become a reality. Blake wanted to run, it was what she was best at, but she would stay for her friend. No one should ever have to feel like that if it can be avoided.

And, just maybe, there was a part of Blake that wanted to stay.

She sat there for a while, watching the forest of Forever Fall. She followed a petal falling from one of the tallest trees, spinning through the eddies in the air, tumbling slowly. It fell towards the forest floor, and just before it touched, Blake thought she saw the slightest movement behind it.

Immediately she was alert, looking directly at where she had though she had seen the movement. It had been nothing more than the hint of a shadow twitching, but Blake had learned the hard way never to dismiss such movements while in the White Fang. She scanned the forest around the area, searching intently for any other movements, but all she saw was pink petals swirling gently in the breeze.

"Pyrrha," She called gently but urgently, "We should go." Blake turned away from the forest, locking eyes with her friend. Pyrrha must have seen the seriousness in her eyes, as her mouth, opening in objection, shut immediately and she nodded.

The two stood together, Blake facing the forest once more. Pyrrha walked calmly inside, but Blake backed away slowly, eyeing the forest, challenging anything to jump out and charge at her. Alas, nothing out of the ordinary moved, and once she was safely back inside the gate, Blake turned back to Beacon.

Blake walked beside Pyrrha, passing the fountain in the center of the courtyard. She looked at all the students sitting on the edges of the magnificent monument or in the grassy mounds just outside the paved stones. This is where all of Beacon's couples would go on the weekends, or most of them anyways. Blake and Yang had always avoided it in favor of more private venues. Blake, being as reserved as she was, let herself go with Yang, and much of what they would do in their alone time would probably be uncomfortable for other students to witness, or just embarrassing for Blake. She dropped her reserve for Yang, but not any other of the students at Beacon. Blake's stomach churned at the thought of her times with Yang.

"How long has it been since you talked to him?" Blake piped up, breaking the long standing silence, wondering how her friend was coping.

"I talked to him this morning," Pyrrha answered, her voice soft and sad. "But it wasn't really talking. I said a few words, and that was it. The last time I really talked to him was over a week ago, when we were finishing professor Port's Grimm classification project."

"So why don't you go talk to him?"

"I can't." Pyrrha finished, her head dropping. It was rare to see the redheaded warrior ever drop her perfect posture and poise, even for such a brief moment. Behind the pain and grief, Blake could have sworn she could see something she had never expected from the spartan warrior. Fear_. _Blake frowned, maybe she wasn't the only one with complicated issues.

"Whatever it is you're scared of, Pyrrha, it can't possibly be that bad. It will do Jaune so much more good if you just talk to him than you could ever do bad."

"Thank you Blake, but I think I should be going now." Pyrrha said, her voice a mockery of its usual upbeat tone. Blake saw the edges of tears in the girls eyes though, so didn't press it.

Pyrrha walked off slowly, wrapped up in her on thoughts while Blake looked around. Without Pyrrha beside her, she started to feel that pit of guilt begin to gnaw at her insides again. Blake sighed heavily, making her way towards the library. The only place at Beacon that she felt truly at peace was in the library surrounded by books and students that were more than happy to ignore her in favor of projects and literature. She figured there was no better way to ignore the thoughts of Yang but to drown her mind in a good novel, and Beacon's library offered more choice than she would ever need.

Blake made her way down the paved stone pathways that twirled through Beacon, knowing them by heart. She had identified which paths went where by the end of her first week of classes. Her meticulous nature as well as her time with the White Fang had hardwired certain survival instincts into her mind, and knowing exactly where every turn in any building she entered was one of them. It was exceedingly useful when your team leader had a habit of waking you up five minutes before class every two weeks or so.

As such, it wasn't long before Blake came up in front of the vast building that housed Beacon's library. She entered the massive two story room, taking the stairs up to the second level. The first floor had some books in it, but it was mostly used for computers. Blake opted for the more literature filled second floor. Her sensitive nose filled with the comforting scent of old books, something she hadn't experienced often before coming to Beacon. The only time before that she had was in Tukson's book shop.

Her heart twinged at the thought of her old friend, now deceased, but she quickly pushed it aside. She refused to let herself think about any connections she used to have with the White Fang. Tukson hadn't made his decision early enough, and had paid the price. She was just glad she hadn't made the same mistake. Especially with what had just happened with Adam.

It bothered her a little that the White Fang wasn't already pounded on the gates of Beacon. She had assumed that they would have been on her tail right away after what she had done. Adam knew where to find her, and she had given him every reason to kill her. It put her on edge that they were taking their time. It had only been a day, but it wasn't like the White Fang to let something go unpunished for more than ten minutes. The organization's tactics were based off impatient political plans anyhow, not getting what they wanted fast enough, it was to be expected that they were inherently impatient when it came to executions.

Blake shut her eyes, focusing, pushing the thoughts away. There was no use thinking about that now. She grabbed a book at random from a shelf and stormed to the nearest reading table. She threw herself into the chair and whipped open the cover, skipping the title page. She voraciously devoured the words in front of her, turning page after page, until eventually she began to calm down. Her reading became less frantic and more engaged, she flipped the pages slowly and deliberately, she just _read_. For the first time since she sat with Yang in Forever Fall, she felt peaceful.

"I mean you're a failure, and she's perfect." Jaune stiffened all over. That word had been one he had hated his whole life. Failure. It was always what he was afraid to be.

"If you're here to train," Jaune's voice was a dark, steely tone, matching the sound of his metal sword scraping against his sheath as he drew it. "Why not train on me?"

_Oh man this was a terrible idea. _Jaune thought to himself as he looked at Cardin grinning down at him, but there was a fire alight in the back of his mind, and Jaune was not going to back down.

"My pleasure, Jauney boy." Cardin said haughtily, stepping forward menacingly. Skye stepped forward too, grinning sadistically, but Cardin held up his hand. "No thanks, I've got a debt to settle here." Jaune's eyes shot back to Cardin in surprise.

The two circled each other, Jaune watching Cardin's stance, evaluating the larger boy. Last time they had fought, Jaune was defending Pyrrha and hadn't really had the time to square off with Cardin beforehand. He had gone into the fight blind, something his partner had drilled into him _not _to do. Cardin held himself heavily, feet firmly planted in the ground due to his immense stature. He would be hard to get off balance or topple. Jaune's eyes flicked to Cardin's weapon, that massive mace. It would pack one hell of a punch, and he knew it from experience.

"Oh, I've been looking forward to this Jauney." Jaune's gaze flicked to Cardin's eyes before returning to their analysis. "I still can't believe what happened on the school field trip. I mean, initially I was grateful of course, but you saving me? I became the kid in school who was saved by the goof. The class idiot. Everyone's least favorite failure." Jaune's jaw clenched at the word, but he did his best to ignore it. Jaune had gotten better, but he still wasn't sure he was as good as Cardin. Especially now that he didn't have a shoulder that could support a shield. "Being bested by a Grimm is pretty bad itself. So me, being saved by you, made it even worse. People were looking down at me, and I thought 'well Cardin, we have to do something about that don't we?'"

Cardin was solid, heavy, hard to knock over and very strong, Jaune reflected, but all of that left one weakness apparent. It was why Ruby had managed to beat the large huntsman in training so easily. He was exceptionally slow. Jaune's sword wasn't short or light by any means, but it would allow him more mobility than Cardin's mace did. If he could avoid getting hit, he might be able to wear his larger adversary down.

"I thought about telling Goodwitch about the transcript, but that seemed a little obvious, and not much fun at all. A quick word, then bye-bye Jaune. Very anticlimactic, but what else was there to do?"

Cardin lunged forward, swinging his mace for Jaune's head. Jaune was off guard, but managed to roll to the side under the blow, and come up to the side.

"And then it hit me. A true stroke of genius if I do say so."

Jaune ducked under a backhand sweep, bringing his sword up across Cardin's chest plate, but got a kick in the gut in return. He coughed as he reeled away.

"Why go after Jaune at all? Why make an example of you?"

Cardin brought his arm down in an arcing swing, but Jaune sidestepped, lashing out at Cardin's exposed arm, but missed.

"Why not go after his partner, little miss perfect. Thinking so highly of herself, like she's smarter than everyone else, better than everyone else. What better way to get under your skin than to go through her?"

Jaune's interest piqued at the mention of Pyrrha, but he quickly lost track of it as he was forced to jump backwards with a yelp to avoid another blow. Cardin stepped forward and ducked under Jaune's clumsy swing, grabbing his arm. Cardin grabbed the front of his hoodie with his other hand, lifting Jaune off his feet and bringing the two face to face.

"So I had a chat with her after class, told her that if she so much as looked at you contently that Goodwitch would find out about your secret. If she talked to you, hung out with you, or really acknowledged your existence in any way, you'd be gone. That shut her up real fast." Cardin laughed. "Incredible how pathetic she is when she can't fight back. She may be a good fighter, but not very bright. You should have seen her. She looked like a deer trapped in the headlights."

Jaune had stopped struggling, his mind reeling and filling with rage. That's what Cardin had done. That's why Pyrrha had been acting strangely lately. She hadn't been able to talk to him out of fear that he would be sent home. She had cut him out to save him from being expelled. His heart sunk at the realization, guilty for the pressure he had been putting on her to open up. It was the absolute worse thing he could have done.

But more than guilt, rage rushed through Jaune's system. Cardin had manipulated Pyrrha because Jaune had saved his life. Coming at Jaune was one thing, and Jaune was alright with that, but messing with his team, his partner, his _friend;_ that was a line that he wasn't okay with anyone crossing. Cardin had tried once before, and Jaune had refused him then. This would be no different.

"And you, you're pretty pathetic too. How on Remnant is it that _you_ saved _me_?" Cardin chuckled, shaking his head. "I'm sorry Jauney boy, but we're done here."

Jaune's world narrowed until it was just Cardin filling his vision. Jaune stared daggers into his tormentor, unwavering even as he saw the larger boy raise his fist. The rage boiling in Jaune's mind had stilled him eerily, his entire world focused into a point of anger. He thought about all the pain he had seen Pyrrha in lately, and the fear in her eyes when she asked him to stay with her earlier that day. Last time he had confronted Cardin, he had accepted the punishment, but this time he wanted to make the other boy pay. Jaune wasn't one for revenge normally, but he couldn't stand the thought of what had happened to Pyrrha.

He saw Cardin's fist flying through the air, but didn't so much as flinch. He was absolutely focused on Cardin's eyes, staring into them with more anger than he had felt before in his life. The blow never landed, and Jaune watched as Cardin's eyes turned from conceited arrogance to pain. Jaune felt himself start to drop through the air as Cardin's grip slipped.

He didn't waste a moment, slashing his sword across Cardin's chest plate, cutting a gash across the emblazoned golden eagle. Cardin stumbled backwards and Jaune swung again, this time connecting with Cardin's side. Cardin swung his massive mace and it sped towards Jaune, and as it came Jaune lashed out with his own strike. His sword found purchase on Cardin's knee, but at the same time Cardin's mace landed. To Jaune, it felt like a muffled blow, as though he had been struck while wearing thick padding. The blow didn't even hurt, though the force did send him stumbling to the side a bit.

Unfazed, Jaune strode towards Cardin once more, watching his eyes intently. Pyrrha had taught him to always watch his opponents eyes. The opponents eyes always gave away what they were going to do, and if you can anticipate what they'll do, you can beat them with ease. Or that was the idea anyhow. Jaune had never found it quite that simple. Jaune didn't find what he expected to see there though. Cardin's eyes, normally filled with arrogance, mischief and an overall cocky demeanor, held an uncharacteristic element at that moment.

Fear.

_Why would Cardin be scared though? _Jaune thought.

A flicker of white streaked past Jaune's vision. His curiosity overcoming him, Jaune looked down at himself. He was surrounded by a white corona of energy. Wisps of white light flicked around his body, snaking over his arms and around his torso before swirling past his legs. The sight of the intense energy shocked Jaune, and he forgot all about his anger from a second ago.

His focus gone, Jaune saw the light start to fade, but he ignored it. He looked back to Cardin as he recovered from his shock. He saw the fear vanish from his adversary's eyes, replaced with a frustrated anger.

Cardin came in with a hard overhead swing, and Jaune dove to the side. As he landed and rolled, he knocked his injured shoulder though, and sprawled across the floor as agony shot down his arm. He scrambled backwards on one arm as Cardin stomped the floor where he had been a moment ago. Jaune scurried to his feet, keeping a low stance. Cardin was a few paces away, holding his massive mace down at his side, relaxed. Jaune allowed himself to relax as well, thinking back to his nights spent training with Pyrrha.

_Legs shoulder width apart, feet staggered. _

_Shield arm forward, towards the opponent. Wait, that won't work. _

_Sword arm at the ready, loose grip, not too tight..._

_Eyes never leave your opponent._

_Arms up, don't let them drop. Well your good one anyway. _

_React to your opponent, don't force any movement._

Running through the list, Jaune dropped into the stance that Pyrrha had taught him. Legs staggered and spread wide, knees bent and ready to react. He waited patiently, waiting for Cardin to move. The lumbering giant finally twitched, his weight shifting, readying himself to step forward. Jaune lunged forward, striking at the load bearing leg. His sword connected, toppling Cardin. Jaune raised his sword up behind him, preparing to bring it down in a blow that would likely finish the fight.

Jaune was suddenly thrown sideways. He reacted, rolling a little ungracefully back to his feet to see Russel standing with his knives out. The rest of team CRDL readied themselves, looking disdainfully at Jaune. Cardin made his way to his feet, picking his mace up from the spot it had fallen to on the ground.

"Playtimes over Jauney boy." Cardin sneered, nodding to his teammates. Suddenly Skye, Russel and Dove charged Jaune.

Jaune managed to parry the first strike from Russel, and got a cut off on Skye, but got knocked backwards by a halberd. Skidding backwards, Jaune looked up to see Cardin joining the fray as well. _Definitely not good._ He thought to himself, but readied himself again. Russel rushed him, daggers flashing out at the same time. Jaune ducked low and kicked out his legs, a move Pyrrha had used on him numerous times. As Russel fell, Jaune came back up to his full height, whipping Crocea Mors around in a wide arc, fending off the three others.

Once his sword had cleared them though, they all pushed in on him at once. Thankfully, Cardin was the first to attack, swinging his massive mace in a huge arc, his teammates having to lunge away to avoid getting hit. Jaune stepped backwards, the mace passing just in front of him. As the momentum carried Cardin aside, Jaune stepped forward and kicked at the same knee he had just struck with his sword, and Cardin collapsed.

A sharp pain flared up his back though, and Jaune dropped to his knees. He heard his scroll beeping in his pocket, indicating that his aura had dipped into the red. He felt two sharp stabs to his arms as Russel cut at him, but fortunately his aura held. Jaune got a knee under himself as blows rained down on him, and leapt away. He hit the ground hard, but he was no longer being stabbed at by multiple weapons, so that was a plus. He got to his feet as fast as he could, turning around as he did so.

All he saw was the end of a massive club as it swung towards his chest. Jaune felt the air rush out of his lungs as the blow landed and he was sent through the air. His aura protected him from the hit, but not from the wall. He felt his head crack against something hard and slumped to the ground, his back resting against the wall. His ears rang. The world flashed white, and Jaune had troubles focusing.

As the world started to come back into focus, he saw heavy metal boots strutting towards him slowly and confidently. He tried to use his good arm to stand, but when he moved even slightly, the world swam and he was overcome with nausea. The hulking figure that must have been Cardin knelt down before him, and Jaune could do nothing as he leaned in close. Concentrating, Jaune was able to focus his eyes to see that he was correct about it being Cardin.

"Honestly, Arc, Weren't we just here a few days ago? You should really do your best to learn something useful." Jaune could barely make out the words over the constant buzzing that had filled his head.

With that, Cardin turned away, beaconing to his friends. Team CRDL filled out of the room, leaving Jaune alone. He felt something trickle down his lip, and weakly raised his arm to see what it was. Touching his lip, he felt something moist and sticky running down from his nose. Pulling his arm away, he saw his fingers covered in blood.

"Shit," he said aloud. "M'should probly get sm'help." He muttered, the words garbled and slurred.

Jaune pushed off his good arm, trying to get his legs under himself. When he tried to stand though, the world tilted, and he fell to the ground. He smacked into the floor, right onto his bad shoulder. He should have felt pain, but the entire world seemed detached, dull and numb. Jaune grunted as he rolled onto his other side, dragging himself to the edge of the training room.

The world was spinning, but Jaune managed to crawl his way up the stairs. When he reached the top, he use the railing to secure himself as he stood. Using the railing, he was able to take a few unsteady steps. He reached the end of the railing, and used the wall instead. Leaning heavily on the solid wall next to him, Jaune managed to make his way towards the door even as the edges of his vision started to swim and turn black.

He pushed open the door, leaning on it as the cool, fresh air hit his face. He breathed in deeply, trying to get himself some more oxygen. He looked out of the training center and saw Pyrrha and Cardin standing together. Pyrrha's head was bowed, and she looked angry. Cardin had his usual cocky demeanor, his face smiling as he talked to her. Probably seeing the motion of the door opening, Pyrrha raised her head and her eyes met Jaune's.

He tried to smile weakly at her, but it came off as an ugly grimace. Pyrrha's mouth dropped in shock as she saw him, and she stood up straight. Jaune thought he heard the faint calling of his name and saw her lips move, but the world was fading away quickly. The last thing he saw was Pyrrha dashing towards him as he lost his grip on the door and fell sideways, the world finally fading black.

**Late release, I'm sorry! Please forgive me. I hope I can get back to the weekly schedule sometime soon, but my life has gotten pretty hectic lately. Other than that, I'm glad to finally have this chapter done with. I was working towards Jaune finding out for a while, but I wasn't sure how to have it happen. Maybe not the best chapter, but I'm pretty happy with how it turned out! Of course, tips, suggestions and any thoughts are more than welcome! Hope you enjoyed the read! **


	18. Chapter 18

"Jaune!" Pyrrha cried as she saw him sway unsteadily on his feet.

She bounded towards him, forgetting all about Cardin beside her. Jaune lost his grip on the door, falling sideways. Before he hit the ground, Pyrrha slid on her knees and caught him. There was blood running down his face from his nose, though it didn't seem to be broken. She tapped his face lightly, trying to wake him, but he didn't stir at all.

She grabbed him under his arms, slinging one of them over her shoulder, hoisting him to his feet. Pyrrha was in very good shape, but even so, she was having issues bearing the full weight of her partner. She took a step, seeing if she could support him. Her step was wobbly, but sturdy. Pyrrha started making her way towards the medical wing, dragging Jaune behind her. The work was slow and arduous, but Pyrrha didn't care. Jaune was in a bad way and he needed help.

There weren't many people outside today, so Pyrrha wasn't offered help as she made her way towards the medical wing of the school. Pyrrha's insides were knotted up in worry, afraid of what had happened to Jaune, but also of what she was doing. Being this close to Jaune was a clear violation of her agreement with Cardin, and could cost Jaune his spot at Beacon.

_But he may never even wake up if he doesn't get help._

Pyrrha sighed, pushing the thoughts from her mind as she pulled Jaune along. She could feel something warm and sticky flowing on to her arm. She looked over to see blood pooling out of Jaune's nose, covering part of her corset and some of her hand. With her free hand, Pyrrha rolled Jaune's head back, trying to stop the blood from flowing. There was only so much she could do though. Worry consumed Pyrrha's mind as she struggled with, but pushed through, each step. Despite her dedication, she was going far too slow.

Thoughts began running through her head of the worst things that could happen to Jaune if she didn't reach the medical wing soon. Severe blood loss, probably concussion, and she didn't know what other conditions. Jaune was not in a good way, and if she failed here, Jaune might never properly recover.

Finally, the medical wing came into view and Pyrrha nearly collapsed in relief. She attacked the next few paces with renewed vigor, pushing so that Jaune could get help as soon as possible. She flung the doors open and tugged her partner in, propping the door open with her foot.

As soon as she was inside, she heard bustling behind her, but Pyrrha kept going. She kept moving, oblivious to the sounds around her. She heard someone talking to her, but it was muffled, as though it were distant. All that mattered to Pyrrha right now was that her partner was alive.

Finally, two medics came in front of Pyrrha's view, forcefully stopping her.

"Miss, please, let us take your friend." The one on the right said clearly, cutting through Pyrrha's worried haze. Pyrrha mumbled an apology as she relinquished her grip on Jaune, but she didn't think that anyone heard her.

The next few minutes were chaotic. Jaune put down on the floor as the two medics bustled around him as a third came up and interrogated her about what had happened. She did her best to answer his questions, but he never got her full attention. Pyrrha was too busy looking at Jaune in worry. Pyrrha saw some other people run out with a gurney, and Jaune was lifted onto it.

"What are they doing?" Pyrrha asked, her heart jumping in worry. She knew it was bad.

"Don't worry about that ma'am. Please, can you just tell me what you saw?"

Pyrrha stammered out a quick description as Jaune was wheeled away. She left out Cardin's name, and the attendant didn't ask. He was just concerned with what he needed to know from a medical perspective.

After her quick explanation, the man disappeared, running after the others.

And it was quiet.

And there was nothing for Pyrrha to do but wait nervously to see if Jaune was alright, and if Cardin would let it slide.

The sun finally dipped below the horizon, sending an orange-pink haze over the world. The clouds were tinted, and even the air itself simmer to shimmer in the early summer dusk. Blake took a deep breath, letting the air flow back out of her lungs. She repeated the technique a few times, hoping that it would calm her raging mind. Ever since she left the library, her thoughts had grown more restless.

Every moment her instincts had been screaming at her to run. The White Fang would be coming, soon, and Blake wanted to do what she was best at. Running, hiding, surviving. Her instincts had been honed since a young age, and by the time that Blake could go on missions for the White Fang, stealth had become her specialty. It made sense that she would be good at a profession that manifested some of the most deeply rooted parts of her personality. And some of the most shameful parts as well.

Blake had never been proud of her stealth. It was a coward's tool. Her whole life, Blake had wanted to make a difference in the world. At Beacon, she wanted to become a huntress to make up for the wrongs she had done. Redemption was a long road, but Blake was willing, knowing it would help Remnant. Even before, in the White Fang, she had thought that she was somehow helping the faunus. Despite what she wanted though, Blake had never held it together. She had always run when the going got tough.

Running was a part of her nature. Recognizing danger and running. And her whole body was screaming at her to go.

Worse, though, than the constant anxiety, was the pit of guilt and fear in her stomach. That came from a completely different aspect of her life. It came from the one thing that was still keeping her grounded.

Yang.  
Despite Yang having blown her off previously, Blake was only still at Beacon because of her partner. Blake had justified it to herself as a desire to help Pyrrha avoid the same mistakes she herself had made, after thinking about it, Blake had decided it was just an excuse. She wanted to make things right with Yang. She had grown to care for her partner more than anyone else in her life, before Beacon or during, and Blake was afraid of a world where she didn't have Yang.

Blake sighed as she lay on the roof of Beacon, gazing up at the clouds. She was starting to feel the evening chill creep into the air, and sat up. She stood stiffly, shaking her head to clear it from the troubled thoughts of the day. She must have been up there for a few hours, though to Blake it hadn't seemed like time was passing at all. The world had become a blur of melancholy sights and tempered thoughts.

Blake walked across the noisy gravel silently, her years of training taking over. She opened the door that lead back into Beacon, stepping gingerly inside. She shut the door behind her and descended the spiral staircase that lead down to the dorms. Blake took her time, in no particular rush. If anything, she was dreading returning to the dorm. Yang would be there, and Blake wasn't sure she could bear to see the blonde just yet.

Blake came out onto her landing, walking slowly towards her door. With each step, however, she grew more hesitant. Finally reaching the door, Blake reached out for the handle, but her hand rested on the cool metal before turning. She knew she couldn't go into the room. Not yet.

Blake turned around, and knocked on the door opposite her own. If she couldn't stay in her room, maybe Pyrrha would offer her a place in theirs. Blake could sleep on the floor without issue. The door opened almost immediately. Blake had to actively stop her ears from twitching in surprise as Nora looked at her hopefully, then realizing who it was, her face dropped.

"Hey Nora, where's Pyrrha?" Blake asked. She had come over to see if the redhead would mind sharing her room with Blake for the night.

"We don't know." Nora said, her shoulders slouching as a crestfallen look fell across the girl's face. "Pyrrha was the first up, of course, she always is the first one up. I wonder if she gets more pancakes because of it. Ooh! Ren! We should get up earlier!"

"Nora!" Came the sharp warning call from Ren, who was calmly polishing his pistols at the team desk.

"Right. So Pyrrha left early, and Jaune left after breakfast. They haven't been back yet, so I was hoping you were her, or him maybe. Ren won't let me call them, because he says they might be working things out. I hope he's right and they're working things out, but I don't know if they are. I mean, how can you work things out that quickly?"

Throughout her spiel, Nora had made her way over to a bed, and was now bouncing up and down on it anxiously.

"Right," Blake said, drawing the word out. Blake didn't mind Nora, but she also didn't always appreciate the amount of talking the pink loving girl found necessary. Blake pulled her scroll out of the inside pocket of her vest and scrolled to Pyrrha's icon.

Pyrrha jumped as her scrolled beeped, tucked under her armor. She pulled the device out, seeing a message from Blake.

_Are you okay? Nora seems worried._

Pyrrha's stomach dropped in guilt. She had been so wrapped up in her worry she had forgotten to send a message to her team and let them know what had happened. She typed in a quick message and sent it.

_Jaune's in the medical wing. Bring the team._

As she sent the message, Pyrrha heard someone walking up from the side. She raised her head to see a sharp looking young doctor walk over. He couldn't have been any older than she was herself. Perhaps he was a resident. He had cropped black hair, a well pressed medical jacket, and a well built frame. Pyrrha had to admit he was quite handsome.

"Pyrrha Nikos, right?" He said, a wisp of awe in his voice. Pyrrha stood and nodded. "Your friend, uh-"

"Jaune."

"Right, Jaune. He's doing well. Bloody nose and a concussion, but no serious damage to his internal organs. Couple bruised ribs. How are you doing?" The doctor looked at her with sympathy.

"Sorry?" Pyrrha asked, surprised at the question.

"I mean, are you alright? Such events can be difficult." The doctor took her hands, holding them gingerly. Pyrrha looked down in confusion.

"Shouldn't you be more worried about the patient?" She said, withdrawing her hands. The doctor paused, then nodded.

"As I said, he'll be fine. Little bit of rest and he'll be back on his feet. You can go see him if you like." Pyrrha sighed with relief, but there was still one question pressing at her mind.

"When will he be better? Will he be able to fight within the week?" The doctor stared at her bewildered.

"What? In the tournament?" The doctor scoffed and laughed a little. "That guy is not built for fighting."

"He's a fine fighter, thank you." Pyrrha said defensively. Jaune may not have been the best, but he worked hard, and had a good heart. That was far more important than ability. "When will he be able to fight." The doctor just looked at her for a moment, then shrugged.

"I wouldn't advise he fight at all for the next couple of weeks. Well ever, actually. If he fights in the tournament next week, he's just going to get hurt again and end up right back here. Though that seems to be his favorite thing from his chart." The doctor laughed a little as he checked the paper on the clip board. Pyrrha had to stop herself from openly questioning his professionalism.

"Thank you doctor." She said with the polite disposition that came so naturally after so much practice. "Which room?"

She left him behind and headed towards the door that he had indicated. She pushed it open and went inside. Jaune was lying on a bed in the middle of the plain white room, nothing but a simple desk to one side of the bed and a chair to the other. Jaune hadn't regained consciousness yet, but he didn't look in a bad way. His nose had been cleaned, so other than a bit of blood on his hoodie and what had stained Pyrrha's armor, there was no indication that anything had happened.

Pyrrha walked over to the chair beside his bed and sat down. The cot was at the same level as the chair, allowing Pyrrha to look down at her partner. Unconsciously, she reached down and laid her hand on his, lightly stroking it. At her touch, Jaune stirred a little, his head rolling towards her. He opened his eyes slightly, and she smiled down at him.

"Pyrrha?" He said, his voice deep and groggy.

"Yes, Jaune." She said softly. He smiled, then his eyes flared open in worry. He tried to sit up, but wavered unsteadily. Pyrrha leapt up, wrapping her arms around his shoulders. She lay him back on his pillows.

"But, what about Cardin?" Jaune said, his eyes looking at her in sympathy.

Pyrrha broke eye contact with Jaune. She couldn't meet his eyes as the guilt ripped through her system. She had acted without thinking things through, and what it meant for Jaune. It seemed that Cardin had told him about his deal with Pyrrha, which meant Jaune knew what she had just cost him. A tear welled up in her eye, her heart filling with sorrow.

"I'm so sorry Jaune. I understand if you hate me for this." Her voice stayed steady, but Pyrrha felt anything but stable. Jaune was silent, and Pyrrha took that to mean she was right. Pain ripped through her chest, as though someone had stabbed her in the heart. The implication of what that meant, that Jaune hated her, was absolutely devastating. "And I'll leave now. I'm sorry Jaune."

She turned away, hiding the tears that had yet to fall from her eyes. She stood and turned away from Jaune. As she stepped away though, she felt his hand grasp he own. She turned back in surprise and looked at Jaune. His eyes were fiery, but not with anger.

"Pyrrha, I could never hate you. I, I-" He broke off for a moment. "You've done so much for me, and I would rather lose Beacon than lose you." His eyes darted away for a moment, and he let go of her hand. "Look, whatever happens with Cardin now, it's fine. Whatever punishment I get, even expulsion, is worth it if you don't have to be in pain anymore."

Pyrrha sat back down in the chair, her heart heavy, but no longer feeling as though there was a massive hole in its place.

"I'm sorry, Pyrrha. This should never have been put on you. I made a mistake coming here, and what I did should never have been used to leverage you. Tomorrow morning I'm going to talk to Ozpin, tell him what I did. I'll face my punishment honestly." Pyrrha looked down at him in shock.

"No! Jaune you don't have to do that."

"Yes, I do. As your leader, I took on a responsibility. As the team leader, I have to protect my team from any threat that faces any member. Something that is used as an attack on anyone is an attack on everyone. My transcripts were used to hurt you Pyrrha, and I have to own up to it."

Pyrrha didn't answer, but reached out and took his hand again. She squeezed it gently, and Jaune squeezed it back. She understood what he was doing. He was taking responsibility, but it also meant that he might be condemning himself to being expelled from the school. It meant that Pyrrha might never see him again. It felt her chest was being ripped open again, and the only thing that was keeping her from collapsing was Jaune's hand.

For now, he was still with her. And Pyrrha would make that count.

Ozpin sighed, taking a sip from his coffee. He looked down at his scroll in front of him, then up at the student who had come to visit him.

"You may go, Cardin."

With a stoic nod, the large young man turned on his heel and walked out of the clockwork room. As Cardin shut the door behind himself, Ozpin swiveled his chair around to look out the window. The view had always been comforting to him, but now he didn't feel comforted. Merely troubled.

"I can't say I'm surprised." Glynda said cooly to his side. "He never lived up to what his transcripts indicated. Low test scores, inability in combat-"

"Natural leadership." Ozpin cut her off. "He possessed great potential and natural instincts. That is a very rare quality, Glynda, and we can hardly waste it."

"Are you suggesting we don't do anything about this?" Glynda said indignantly.

"Of course not. I was just hoping to never have to encounter this issue. There must always be repercussions for actions. Jaune is no exception." Glynda was silent for a moment, picking up on Ozpin's hidden words.

"You knew, didn't you?" She said softly, with a touch of exasperation. Ozpin smiled wryly.

"I may have have had a suspicion, but without any concrete evidence, how could I ever accuse a student?"

"Of course you did." Glynda said to herself, and Ozpin couldn't help but be humored by her slight anger. "So what now? I think it would follow logically to have him expelled. He should never have been accepted to Beacon, and so he must leave it now."

Ozpin brought his mug to his lips again, taking a sip of the bitter coffee. He stood, grabbing his cane and walked towards the large glass pane at the back of the room. Leaning slightly on his cane, he looked down at the small dots, the students, milling about Beacon. Each of them had studied for years to prepare themselves to be hunters and huntresses. Each of them had taken a rigorous test to gain acceptance to Beacon, each one of them had worked hard to earn their spot at Beacon. All but one.

Jaune Arc had never been to a combat school. He had no experience with Grimm before coming to Beacon. He didn't possess the knowledge the other students had, and certainly not their ability. He had shown great advancement throughout the year though. Undoubtedly a result of his natural ability and great potential.

Ozpin had suspected, of course, when he saw Jaune in the Emerald Forest for the first time, that the boy hadn't truly earned his spot at Beacon. Glynda had commented that he wasn't ready for the calibre of combat that Beacon expected, but Ozpin had let it slide. Despite his clumsiness, awkward manner and lack of experience, Jaune had something much more important.

At the start of the year, Ozpin had made a speech to the new arrivals. He had warned them that knowledge would no longer be enough, that experience wouldn't carry them through to graduation. His school was built to give the students all the tools they needed to succeed. He had a staff of the best teachers who would provide the students with all the knowledge they could ever need. History, Grimm anatomy, battle strategy, individual combat tutoring, and even wilderness survival were all subjects that would be second nature to students by the time they left Beacon.

Despite being given all of the necessary tools, however, Ozpin knew that those were not always what was required to be a huntsman or huntress. An individual could posses all the knowledge necessary, have all the experience, and never be a hunter. Criminals such as Roman Torchwick were proof of this. No, being a hunter took more than just knowledge. It took courage, and more importantly, it took a true heart. An honest soul.

The moment that Ozpin had met Jaune, he knew that the boy held an honest soul. Despite the deceitful means of his entry to Beacon, Jaune had a sense of what was right and wrong, and would follow it. He didn't have the confidence that the other students had, due probably to rightfully feeling out of place, but Ozpin saw the heart of a true warrior in Jaune. Jaune wanted to be a hunter to help others, to make sure that the world was safe for everyone. Jaune knew why he wanted to be a hunter, something many students hadn't figured out for themselves yet. He was like Ruby Rose in that sense. It was the reason she had been bumped up two years.

Even more than that, though the boy didn't appear confident, Ozpin saw a certainty that the boy held that he would make the right decisions in the worst circumstances. Something that was very rare. It showed a strong moral compass that everyone could benefit from, especially with what might be coming.

Jaune's performance in the Emerald Forest had also shown his initiative and leadership. He had taken control of his team right away, intuitively perceiving their strengths and weaknesses. He had acted and directed without thinking about what he was doing, and had bested a Deathstalker without much issue. Considering his lack of experience, Jaune's performance indicated that he had more potential that almost all the other students.

Nevertheless, Jaune had lied to gain entry, and now he had to face the consequences. Ozpin sighed, taking another sip of his coffee.

"It seems that I will be having a chat with mister Arc in the morning."

**Whew. Finally getting the new chapter out! Apologies for the late release, but I just haven't had the time to write at all lately. Hopefully I'll have more time this week, and will be able to get the next chapter out within my usual 7 days. Other than that though, the story is starting to wrap up! The stage is almost set for the grand finale! I just want to thank everyone that has read, followed, favourited and especially those who reviewed this story. You're all incredibly, and honestly I don't know if I would have gotten as far in this story without the support of the community! I certainly wasn't expecting it to be this long when I started. So a huge thank you to everyone! Hope you're enjoying the read, and any comments, criticism and thoughts are always welcome! **

**-Unjax**


	19. Chapter 19 (part 1)

"Seriously Arc, you should stop getting yourself into these situations." Yang said jokingly, though her voice seemed hollow to Jaune.

"Hey!" He replied indignantly. "It's not like I try to."

A few minutes after Jaune woke up with Pyrrha at his side, his friends had come rushing into the room. Despite how troubled he felt about telling Ozpin about the transcripts, he put on a happy face and joked with his friends.

"Yeah Jaune," Ruby said, "What happened to you? Did you fall down the stairs again?"

"Nah sis, it was team CRDL. They strutted into the training room, and Jaune asked for some alone time with them." Yang explained. Jaune had forgotten she had been there at the start.

"Why would you be fighting with team CRDL?" Weiss asked, somehow sounding angry and _almost_ concerned at the same time. Her question made Jaune lower his head though. He didn't know whether he should tell them all the full story. He looked sideways at Pyrrha, who nodded sadly. Jaune closed his eyes for a moment, steeling himself. He opened them and spoke.

"Okay everyone, there's something I need to tell you. I, uh, I didn't get into Beacon."

"Um, what?" Yang said.

"But, you're _here_." Ruby added. "How could you be at Beacon if you weren't in Beacon?"

"Because I didn't actually go to combat school before this or anything. My whole family have been hunters, my dad, his father, and my grandfather's father. When I was a kid, I always wanted to be one too, but my parents didn't want me to spend my childhood training. So, to get into Beacon, I talked to some people and got my hands on a set of fake transcripts."

"You did _what_?" Weiss shrieked.

"Look, I know it was wrong," Jaune put his hands up placatingly. "And I'm going to talk to Ozpin once I get out of here. Cardin used it to put me on a leash at the start of the year, and then Pyrrha just recently. I'm not okay with him doing that, and the easiest way for me to fix this is just to own up to it."

The room was silent for a moment. Jaune looked around at his friends, none of whom met his eye. Nora seemed unperturbed, just bouncing up and down in the seat she had found. Ren had his eyes closed, as though he was meditating. Yang was looking away from him, a crease in her brow. Even Ruby, the first friend he had made at Beacon, wouldn't look at him.

"Wait," Ruby said, "But that means-"

"You're not coming back for the fall semester, are you Jaune?" Yang asked. Jaune's stomach sank.

"No, I don't think I will be. Once I tell Ozpin, I'll probably be packing my things and on my way out right away." The room was, once again, silent. Jaune took a deep breath. "I just wanted to thank you guys. I know I didn't deserve any of it, but this year at Beacon's been the best I've ever had, and all of you were a part of that." Jaune finished, and lowered his head. He didn't want to see looks of disgust that must be on his friends' faces right now. He didn't want his last memory of them to be that.

"Well," Pyrrha said softly, but defiantly. "For what it's worth Jaune, I still think you've earned your place here." She presented it almost as a challenge to the others.

"Yeah, you've been a good leader Jaune." Ruby said, still chipper.

"You've done well by us." Ren nodded in agreement.

"I think we can all say that you would've been a great huntsman some day Jaune." Yang said. Jaune had to compose himself for a moment before replying.

"Thanks guys. I know that you're all going to become great hunters. Maybe I'll see you all someday saving the world." Jaune said cheekily despite his rapidly sinking heart. He honestly hoped to seem them doing well someday, but he didn't want to only see them as a civilian watching heroes. He wanted to be out there with them.

"Hey, if you ever come visit Vale, send us a message." Ruby said, her voice a little tight. Jaune nodded.

"Thanks for coming to visit guys, but you should really get some rest. You all have classes tomorrow."

"If this is your last night here Jaune, were going to make it the best night ever!" Nora exclaimed excitedly. "There's no way we're going to sleep tonight!"

"Yeah!" Ruby chimed in.

"You've _got_ to be kidding me." Weiss said crossing her arms over her chest.

"Come on ice queen! When's the last time you pulled an all nighter?" Yang asked, pulling the heiress into a one armed hug. Weiss responded with a muffled, strangled noise.

The next few hours were spent joking around and reminiscing about the best moments of the year. Initiation was a big topic, and Jaune found out that Ren had single handedly bested a small King Taijitu. His friend had remained calm when telling the tale, but Nora cut in every few seconds, exaggerating a few details. Weiss told everyone how she had almost roasted Ruby by accident when she jumped in front of the heiress' attack. They moved on, slowly working their way through the year. There were a lot of grudges brought up about the food fight, and somehow Yang and Nora managed to steer the conversation towards a rematch between teams RWBY and JNPR.

The room had descended into silence momentarily as everyone realized that team JNPR wouldn't fully exist for much longer. The silence quickly passed though, Yang quickly switching the subject to how she had first met Jaune. Namely, the time he had vomited on the airship. Jaune forgot all about his impending removal from the team in embarrassment, and continued to joke and talk with his friends to steer the conversation off that course. They continued talking deep into the night.

Despite Yang and Nora's declarations at the beginning of the evening, everyone grew increasingly tired throughout the night. After Nora drifted off for the third time, Jaune decided he should send his friends on their way. He was enjoying this, but there was no use having everyone pass out in the medical wing rather than their rooms. There were some avid protestations, mostly from Yang, but eventually they conceded.

Jaune watched from his bed as his friends filed out the door, waving back at him. He was fully aware that that might be the last time he saw them, and though he waved back cheerily, he felt nothing but dread. Pyrrha was the last in the line to exit, behind Weiss. As the ice queen walked out the door, Pyrrha shut it behind her and walked over to Jaune. She sat on the edge of his bed, but didn't say a word.

She leaned in close to him, and Jaune's heart skipped a beat as she came in close. Despite being tired, Pyrrha still looked absolutely radiant to him. She laid down beside him, turning her head to look at him. Their faces were only inches apart, and Jaune could feel his face starting to flush. Jaune met Pyrrha's eyes, and he saw a mixture of emotions, but most prevalently, he saw sadness in them.

"I'm going to miss you Jaune." She whispered softly. She raised her hand and touched his cheek, and Jaune stopped breathing. All too soon though, she pulled away and sat up. As she made to step away though, Jaune took her hand, stopping her.

"Wait," He said softly. He wasn't entirely sure what he was doing but he stood ignoring the wave of dizziness washing over him, gingerly holding her hand. He looked into her eyes and slowly leaned in, starting to realize what he was doing. Their faces approached, and before Jaune knew what was happening, their lips were only a fraction of an inch apart. They stayed like that for a moment, then Pyrrha took the initiative and closed the remaining gap.

Her soft lips pressed against his as her juniper scent wafted over him. Jaune felt electrified, as though each nerve in his body was suddenly burning. It was like the biggest adrenaline shot in the world, but so much better. Jaune kissed her back, but it only lasted a second before they both drew away.

"I'm going to miss you too, Pyrrha." He said, his hand coming up to touch her cheek. He thought he saw a tear forming in her eye, but she blinked and it was gone.

"I think I should be going now." Pyrrha said, a little unfocused. "Goodbye, Jaune."

With that, Jaune's partner walked out the door, leaving him all alone in his hospital room bed.


	20. Chapter 19(20) (part 2)

Pyrrha wanted to scream in joy, cry in anguish, and hide in a corner until everything went away. She took deep breaths, trying to stop herself from shaking. Her stomach was twisting into knots, responding to a thousand different emotions. Her heart was racing, her hands were shaking, and Pyrrha wanted to be sick. She had years of practice acting perfectly happy behind her mask, putting on a pretty face and talking to people. As such a large figure in the combat community, she had learned well how to be polite and kind. While it served to distance her from others, at the least she had always been composed.

She was not composed right now.

Pyrrha had never felt such a strong rush of emotions. What she had been hoping for so long had finally happened. It wasn't the kiss, though Pyrrha had found the experience absolutely _electrifying_, but more the admittance of the feelings. Jaune had portrayed in that one simple action all the acceptance, all the intimacy, all the belonging that Pyrrha had desired for so long. When she had met Jaune, Pyrrha had been intrigued, and that interest had grown into something she had been terrified to admit for so long out of fear of rejection.

It had finally happened though, and it made Pyrrha feel as though electricity were shooting through her whole body. Pyrrha felt light, confident, and above all, she felt truly content. Pyrrha had never felt as good in her life as when she was kissing Jaune. All the tournament victories in the world would never compare to her first kiss.

The revelation of Jaune feeling the same as her, however, came with a bittersweet catch. While Pyrrha couldn't imagine anything better, the best had come at the worst time. While she now knew how Jaune felt, there was no possibility of anything happening. Jaune was going to talk to Ozpin the following morning. If Cardin hadn't already told the headmaster about the faked transcripts, Jaune would, and he would be on the next airship out of Beacon.

It was likely Pyrrha would never see Jaune again. So, while Pyrrha was experiencing the greatest feelings of her life, she was also feeling a dread and fear beyond anything she had ever experienced before. She was about to lose the most important person she had ever had.

The world blurred as Pyrrha held her fresh tears in her eyes so they wouldn't fall down her cheeks. She realized she was walking through Beacon's hallways. It was a familiar path, that which led to her rooms, and she must have been walking it out of habit. Pyrrha hugged her arms around herself, briefly flicking one hand up to wipe away a tear before it had a chance to fall.

Pyrrha rounded the corner that led to her dorms. The hallway was empty except for Blake, who was leaning against the wall outside of team JNPR's dorm. The raven haired girl had her hands buried in her hair and her eyes closed. Sympathy coursed through Pyrrha for the other girl. Blake was still dealing with what was happening with Yang, and Pyrrha had to imagine it was stressful.

Blake's head whipped around as Pyrrha staggered towards her. Neither of the girls said a word as Pyrrha leaned against the wall beside Blake, then slid down so she was sitting. She brought her knees up to her chest as Blake sank down beside her. Pyrrha leaned against her friend, hugging her legs tightly. She didn't start sobbing uncontrollably. Her composure didn't shatter. All that happened was a tear slid down her cheek. With the falling of the tear came an all consuming emptiness inside the redhead.

"What is it?" Blake asked.

"He kissed me," Pyrrha replied hollowly. _And now he's leaving forever._

**So a bit of a weird structure this week. There were three things I was working towards for this week's chapter. The first was the kiss, the second is Pyrrha's reaction, and the third you will figure out soon enough :). Anyways, I finished up to this part today, and felt it would be better if each of the three sections for the week got their own chapter. So yes, short chapters tonight (I'm sorry!), but there should be another one coming this week. The second half of chapter 19 will come out either late tomorrow, or more likely, Sunday. Trying a new thing out here, so let me know what you think! I don't think I'll ever face a scenario where I need to do this again, but you never know. As always, comments, thoughts and suggestions are always welcome. Thanks for reading, and hope you're enjoying! **

**-Unjax**


	21. Chapter 21

Blake rolled over, almost mewling in protest at the severe discomfort in her neck. It felt crooked, and Blake knew it was going to be one of those aches that would last all day. She lithely twisted into a crouching position before standing, noticing she was in the same clothes she went to bed in.

She looked around the unfamiliar room she was in. Over the year, Blake had gotten used to the polarized room of team RWBY, where Weiss' and Blake's sections of the room were spotless and organized, and Yang and Ruby's corners were messy. The room she was in now seemed rather uniform, slightly messy but mostly neat throughout the whole room.

There were four beds, only three of which held bodies. Pyrrha, Nora and Ren were still sleeping soundly. Blake didn't want to think about the fourth bed. Pyrrha had offered for her to sleep in it, though hesitantly, but Blake had declined. Jaune hadn't even left Beacon yet, and it had seemed wrong to take his bed.

Blake stretched, then pulled her scroll out of her pocket to check the time. It was 6:30, about a half hour before she would usually wake up. Blake looked at her redheaded friend, and she felt horrible. Pyrrha was going through exactly what she had been through with Yang. Blake knew her friend's pain, but there was nothing she could do.

Blake looked towards the team's bathroom, considering taking a shower. Her hair wasn't disheveled or anything, Blake just wanted to feel the warm water coursing over her body. She could do with a hot shower. She walked into the small washroom and shut the door behind her. She shucked her clothes and stepped into the shower, turning it on to full heat. The water was scalding hot, but Blake welcomed the pain. The stinging sensation helped to keep the thoughts of her partner, the White Fang, and Jaune at bay.

Being alone, however, meant that she could only keep the thoughts away for so long. Before long, the pleasant shower turned sour as Blake's stomach started to turn. Thoughts of Yang in particular began worming their way into her head, and Blake couldn't stand it. She shut the water off, toweled off and donned her clothes once more. She checked her scroll, annoyed to see that only ten minutes had passed.

She exited the washroom and reentered JNPR's room. As she walked in, she saw Pyrrha sitting on the edge of Jaune's bed, her hand idly stroking a carving in the side. Blake strode over and sat beside her friend.

"Hello, Blake." Pyrrha said as she sat beside her. "How are you today?" Pyrrha's voice was sad and distracted.

"Are you alright?" Blake replied, ignoring the girl's question. Blake was not doing well, but Pyrrha had enough to worry about as it were. Pyrrha's head dropped at the question, and Blake heard an audible sigh. Pyrrha moved her hand from where it was tracing the design etched into Jaune's bed. Blake looked over and saw a javelin, Pyrrha's symbol, inscribed in the double crescent of Jaune's symbol.

Blake gasped. The implications of what Pyrrha had done tracing that in Jaune's bed were tremendous. To share symbols with another was to indicate a complete devotion to that person. Blake knew that Pyrrha was having a rough time, but she hadn't realized that the redhead had cared quite that much for Jaune.

"I just can't believe I might not see him again." Pyrrha said in her lilting voice. "I know what he did was wrong, but Jaune is a fine leader. With practice, he could make a great huntsman."

"I'm sure you'll see him again sometime, Pyrrha. He can come visit us in Vale whenever he feels."

"I'm afraid he won't be able to make that trip very often. His home is in a small village at the other end of the Kingdom. The fare to fly there is quite expensive, and the trip by foot is far too dangerous. Maybe I can see him in the summers, but Blake, I don't know how I'm going to go ten months of the year without seeing him. People can change so much in such little time, what if I don't know him anymore after that?"

Blake fell silent at her friend's words. If Jaune left, it would essentially mean the end of his and Pyrrha's relationship. Blake didn't say anything. There was a point where there was nothing that could be done to console grief. The only thing they could really do now was wait to see if, by some miracle, Ozpin would be lenient. Blake wasn't very hopeful, but she didn't voice her opinion. Pyrrha needed that hope for now.

Nora and Ren woke before long, and after everyone had washed, the four of them headed to the cafeteria for breakfast. Though Nora chatted nonstop, the three others didn't speak much. It wasn't until team RWBY showed up as well that some real conversation started. Yang sat at the opposite end of the table as Blake and talked with Nora about this and that. Weiss and Ruby were chatted idly with Ren about school, though Ruby seemed a little less energetic than usual. Blake assumed that that had to do with Jaune as well.

They all made their way to first class, Professor Port's lecture, and listened to the old huntsman ramble about the great feats he had achieved over the years. Though Blake knew the teacher was a skilled huntsman, she couldn't keep focused. Her eyes kept drifting to the streaks of golden hair that were constantly flickering in the edge of her vision. Blake watched the back of her partner's head, but Yang didn't once look back.

Eventually, the bell sounded for next period. Yang stood and looked back at Blake, and Blake's heart started pounding. Her partner lowered her eyes almost immediately though, walking away hurriedly. Blake's heart sunk again, and she stood to make her way to next class. It so happened that team RWBY had all the same classes together, and although Blake tried to position herself away from Yang, she couldn't help but look back at her partner constantly. When the lunch bell rang, Blake decided to take the rest of the day off. When she had entered Beacon, she had done her best to excel in school. She wanted to work as hard as she could so that, some day, she could pay off the debts that she owed the world. Now though, Blake couldn't stand to be in the same room as her partner, so she decided to skip out on the last few classes.

She made her way back to her dorm and walked inside. She changed her clothes first, putting a fresh pair of combat clothes in lieu of her school uniform. She then walked over to her book shelf and pulled out her notebook. She flipped through a few of the pages, looking over the sketches of her old life. It had been a lot simpler for her then. It was just missions and surviving, a dangerous life, but a structured one.

Blake sat on her bed, and a flash of color caught her eye. She turned towards her pillow, noticing two plant stems poking out from under her pillow. Tentatively, Blake lifted her pillow off her bed. Before her lay two flowers and a small card. There was a delicate rose with two thorns on the stem, leading into a tightly spiraled flower. It would have been beautiful had it not been slightly wilted. Next to it lay a stem of nightshade, the five flower bulb lovely, full and dark. Blake stomach churned in fear.

The wilted rose was Adam's symbol, the nightshade was her favorite flower. Something only Adam knew. Adam had been in her room, next to her bed, within the past few hours. Blake's mind reeled, but she reached forward and picked up the white card in front of her.

_Tonight, same time, same place. You made a grave mistake Blake, it's time we settled it._

_Adam._

Blake dropped the card and reached forward. She picked up the two flowers. The nightshade had a sweet scent that contrasted with the decaying smell of the rose. Together they were sickly sweet, and Blake felt nauseated. She threw the flowers away, turned and ran out of the room.

She bolted through the halls of Beacon before she rounded a corner and stopped dead. In front of her stood Ozpin. She locked eyes with him for a moment, her mind blanking in panic. Ozpin looked back at her calmly, raising his mug to his lips and taking a sip of coffee. He lowered the cup, and set his cane down in front of himself.

"Hello Blake,"

"Headmaster," She responded as calmly as she could. Her heart was still pounding in fear, and she wanted nothing more than to run as far away from there as she could.

"Perhaps I'm mistaken, but I was under the impression that there were classes today."

"There are sir."

"You don't seem to be in class."

"I'm not."

"And there is the crux of the issue." Ozpin raised his mug to his lips once more, taking another sip. He was being frustratingly calm, and Blake couldn't think straight.

"I'm sorry sir, but I couldn't be in class anymore today."

"Miss Belladonna, Blake, you'll have to tell me something more if you want to stay out of class. You're a hard worker and a dedicated student. I know you wouldn't be missing class if you didn't have a reason. So, what's wrong?" Blake looked hard at the professor, but he wouldn't be intimidated.

"It's... Personal, sir. I'm sorry, but I can't be in school today."

Ozpin studied her, and Blake lowered her eyes. She had told the truth, it was just personal business, but it wasn't the whole truth. She was sure the professor knew that.

"Very well. I won't press the matter." Relief swept over Blake and she started to move away. "But Miss Belladonna, if you are having serious issues, perhaps you should tell your team about them. Perhaps they can help."

Blake almost scoffed at the statement. A member of her team was half her problem right now, and the other half was something no one could do anything about. No one but her.

She moved away from Ozpin. She would head to the forest and wait. She had about six hours until midnight, and in that time, she would do all she could to prepare herself for Adam's coming.

Yang walked into her dorm. She had been in classes all day and was fed up with working. The second the final bell had sounded in Goodwitch's class, Yang had been gone. She hadn't been sparring due to the absence of her own partner, so Yang had had an hour of nothing but thinking. Lately, Yang had not enjoyed thinking. Mostly, she thought about Blake.

Her partner and ex had been absent for the second half of the day, but only physically. Thoughts of the raven haired girl had been running through Yang's head all day. She wanted to forgive her partner and let things go back to normal, but Blake had still chosen her old partner over Yang. That decision had rocked Yang's trust in her partner so much that she didn't know if she could open back up to the other girl yet.

As she opened the door though, Yang was met with an odd sight. There were two flowers laying haphazardly on the floor, a rose and some five petalled plant that Yang hadn't seen before. Next to them was a note on a small piece of card no bigger than Yang's hand. She bent over and picked it up. Yang's heart jolted as she read the note.

From what Blake had told Yang, she had seriously pissed off the White Fang. If Adam had left her a personal message, that probably meant something serious. Blake was definitely in trouble. Yang threw the door open again and stormed out of the room. There were no thoughts of their recent break up. Yang didn't even consider her partner's betrayal. All she knew was she had to find Blake before Adam came to hurt her.

**Okay, so this brings an end to the odd scheduling of the week. Another short chapter, I know, but this gets me back on track for the usual 1 chapter on sundays. This week was a bit hectic, and the three short releases rather than one larger release was the only way I could think of to get the full content of the week in. In other news, were heading towards the climax of Blake's story, and Jaune/Pyrrha's is coming up in another few chapters. This chapter was more of a set up, and next one should be a bit more exciting. Hope you've enjoyed the read so far, and as always, comments, criticism and suggestions are always welcome! **

**-Unjax**


	22. Chapter 22

Jaune woke up feeling a little sick. He was pretty sure it wasn't from his injuries too. Today was the big day, he would have to face the heat. He was going to stand in front of Ozpin and tell the headmaster he had lied to his face, that Jaune didn't deserve a second of the headmaster's time. On the table next to him, Jaune's scroll buzzed. He looked at the screen and saw that it was late in the afternoon. He would be in his last class of the day right now if he was in school. He also saw a little blinking envelope in the corner of the screen. He opened it and saw the message was from Ozpin.

_Or Cardin already told him._

Jaune heaved a heavy sigh. He rolled out of the bed and grabbed his white armor from the spot the doctors had piled it on a small visiting chair. He put the armor on in no rush, taking his time. Jaune was fully aware that this might be the last time he donned the armor, and as such, was in no rush whatsoever. He took his time, carefully attaching the straps, putting them all on just right. He looked at himself in the mirror, and after an eternity of fidgeting, was satisfied with how he looked. He picked the scroll off his table and looked at the message.

_Please see me in my office, mister Arc. Sooner would be better. _

Jaune walked out of the door to his small room in the medical wing. He looked at the doctors and nurses bustling to and fro, always busy doing something or other. He tried to avoid thinking about any of the Beacon medical employees he had gotten to know perhaps too well over his time at the school.

He walked at a quick clip out of the med wing, taking the shortest and most direct route to Beacon's main tower. He had taken his time getting ready, but he couldn't bear to walk through all the places he knew if he wasn't going to get to see them again. He tried to keep his head straight, not looking around him, but when he came to the main body of the school, he couldn't help but feel as though he had just been punched in the gut. Or stabbed. Closer to stabbed. This was much worse than getting punched, and Jaune knew that from experience.

His eyes were dragged involuntarily to the different classrooms as he walked by, knowing that all his friends would be in those classes right now, and he meant all his friends. Back home, Jaune had always been an outcast. He was socially awkward, nervous, and not particularly skilled at anything. It wasn't that people were mean to him or anything, it was just that nobody really noticed him.

He hadn't expected it to be any different at Beacon, but within a week he had found himself leader of a team and hanging out with six very good friends. Six good friends, and a seventh, Pyrrha, who was always so much more. Jaune hadn't realized it for a long time, blinded by his crush on Weiss, but Pyrrha was the greatest thing that had ever happened to him. She had been a strong and supportive friend at first, then their relationship had progressed. They were friends of course, but Jaune had started to feel as though that word didn't fully portray how he felt for his redheaded partner.

It wasn't until last night that he had been entirely certain what it was he felt, but it had been there for a while now. He regretted that he hadn't done anything about it before, but he had finally showed her how he felt. Jaune was having issues coping with the fact that right now they were separated by a few feet of brick, but soon it would be an entire kingdom. He wouldn't have many opportunities to ever see her again besides on the screen when she was winning countless tournaments.

Jaune had to shake his head to clear it of thoughts of Pyrrha. If he continued to dwell on what he was about to lose, he would never make it to Ozpin's office. He picked up the pace and moved past the old walls that housed everything he could ever want.

The spire wasn't far, perhaps a two minute walk. To Jaune, it seemed to stretch out for much longer, but at the same time pass far too quickly. He walked into the lobby and made his way to the elevator. He selected the top floor, and the elevator moved instantly to comply. The journey was short, and Jaune didn't have any time to think as he whirled to the uppermost reaches of Beacon. There was a ding, and the doors opened.

Jaune stepped onto the solid floor and approached the large twin doors that would open to Ozpin's office. He walked up to it confidently, but when he laid his hands on them, he paused. He bowed his head and closed his eyes.

_This is it._

The simple thought was saddening and reassuring at the same time. Jaune opened his eyes again and stood tall, pushing the doors wide open. In front of him was a large room made of green tinted glass. Above him, different gears whirled and clicked together, and below the glass floor, Jaune could see a similar set of working gears. The room was essentially a massive clock.

Ozpin sat in a high topped chair behind a large oaken desk on the other side of the room. The normally bright and subtly energetic headmaster looked positively tired, and Jaune didn't consider that a good thing. The older man was sitting with his fingertips pressed together, resting just in front of his eyes, half covered by the glare of his glasses.

"Hello Jaune," He said, his voice old and tired.

"Uh, hey professor Ozpin. I'd say I need to tell you something, but I take it from your message you know what it is." Jaune said, holding up his scroll for emphasis. The headmaster nodded.

"Please, take a seat." Ozpin indicated the chair across from him. Jaune obliged, sitting in the comfortable leather chair. "It has come to my attention via another student that your acceptation to Beacon had less than legitimate qualifications. My first question would be to ask whether or not this is true." The headmaster leaned forward, meeting Jaune's eyes. Jaune's insides were twisting in guilt, shame and fear, but he took a deep breath and steeled himself.

"Yeah, it is. I won't rationalize all of it to you, but I got fake transcripts to Beacon. It was the only way I could get in."

"And why, knowing you didn't posses the proper skills, would you want to get into Beacon?"

"Uh, what?" Jaune asked, thoroughly dumbfounded. He had been expecting a quick expulsion after admitting to his offense.

"I'm just trying to understand your choice, Jaune. I can hardly make a full decision without understanding every aspect of the story that has taken place." Ozpin's mouth quirked into a half smile as he spoke, as though he were amused by Jaune's surprise.

"Oh, well I wanted to be a huntsman. My family before me have all been hunters, and I want to help other people too. I didn't have a whole lot to offer to the world as a farmer or anything like that, so I thought I could try to become a hunter. I want to help as many people as I can, protect them from harm. I just figured I'd learn everything I needed to know to do that here." Ozpin studied him hard as he spoke, but Jaune was determined to tell the truth.

"And do you feel you've learned well?" Ozpin's line of questioning once again left Jaune speechless for a moment. He regained his composure then spoke.

"I think I've done pretty well. I mean, I'm nowhere as good as some of the others, but I can hold my own against Grimm now."

The professor made a humming sound in the back of the throat and his eyes flickered over Jaune. Ozpin grew silent, and Jaune started to feel a little uncomfortable. The fact that Ozpin hadn't sent him packing yet had sparked a flicker of hope in Jaune's chest, and he knew that was more dangerous than anything else right now.

"There is another thing I'd like to know. What was miss Nikos' involvement in this affair?" Jaune's mind immediately flared in anger. There was no way he was going to let Pyrrha be caught up in all of this. She had already been hurt enough.

"She had nothing to do with this." He said hotly. "It was all on me. Don't go after her for my mistake." Ozpin held up his hand, stopping Jaune, though he was ready to continue arguing for his partner's sake.

"She's in no danger here Jaune. She won't get in trouble for this, but she came to me a while ago asking to be transferred to another school. I can only assume that this and her erratic behavior in class as reported by her instructors is a result of something pertaining to the matter at hand."

"Oh," Jaune replied dumbly, reprimanded for his outburst. He was also shocked to hear she had asked to leave Beacon, but he put that aside for now. "Well, I didn't know what was happening until recently. When I found out I decided to come talk to you, but that worked itself out.

"At the start of the year, I wasn't really the knight in shinning armor yet, and I was having some issues with that. Pyrrha was trying to help me, and I was being a jerk about it. When I realized how out of line I was, I told her about the transcripts. Cardin overheard from his dorm, and from then on I was pretty much on his leash. He made me do his homework, some petty errands for him and stuff like that.

"I figured it was alright if it meant I could stay at Beacon, but then he wanted me to throw a jar of sap at Pyrrha and let a bunch of Rapier Wasps loose on her. I wouldn't do it, so he knocked me around a bit. Then an Ursa attacked, and hit him around. I chopped its head off and told Cardin not to mess with me or my team again, and I thought that was the end of it.

"Then I guess a while ago he approached Pyrrha, telling her not to talk to me or help me anymore. He must have threatened to tell you about the transcripts leading to my expulsion as leverage to make her do what he said. I don't really know much of what happened there. I only just found out. When she finally told me what Cardin had been doing, I was furious with him, but in the end, it was my fault. If I had never tricked my way into Beacon, he could never have done that to her. I can't let anything like that ever happen again, especially to her. She's part of my team and she's my partner, and I won't let my mistakes be leveraged against her."

Jaune finished speaking and dropped his head. Ozpin hadn't moved at all while Jaune was speaking. He just wanted Ozpin to give his verdict so he could stay or go, but this limbo was killing him.

"Interesting," Ozpin said, his voice monotone. He must have been concentrated on thinking. There was a silence, and Jaune raised his eyes to look at his headmaster. They locked eyes, but Jaune broke contact after a moment. "It seems to me that you've been quite noble through this entire thing. You've done a lot to protect your teammates, something I assume includes several trips to the medical wing. You've taken responsibility for your actions, prompted by the desire to protect your team. All admirable qualities in a true leader."

Jaune's heart was rising, the spark of hope igniting into a small flame.

"But, none of this would have ever happened if you hadn't made such a severe mistake in the first place." The small flame of hope was smothered. "Despite your attempts to correct them, your actions have had adverse effects on yourself and others, and I believe I have made a decision."

She was in class, and she didn't know why. Despite knowing that class and education was vital to become the best huntress she could be, Pyrrha simply didn't want to be there today. She knew that she couldn't skip the classes, it simply wouldn't have been right, but Pyrrha would much rather be standing beside Jaune right now. Blake hadn't shown up to class for the second half of the day, she had skipped, and Pyrrha had been sincerely considering following suit.

Despite her desire to leave though, Pyrrha had stayed in class. She had spent the majority of the day trying to stay focused, trying not to let thoughts of her blond haired partner intrude on her learning. Pyrrha had failed miserably. She spent the hours in class thinking about Jaune. She kept wondering what it would be like if she walked back into her dorm and found all of Jaune's stuff missing.

With her empathetic nature, Pyrrha would already find that sad, but after what the two had been through together, Pyrrha knew she would genuinely miss her partner's presence. Especially after last night, after he kissed her. Pyrrha had cared about her partner for a long time, but had said nothing, not out of fear of rejection but out of fear that it might hinder Jaune.

At the start of the year, it had been evident that Jaune had feelings for Weiss, and for that reason, Pyrrha had said nothing. She wanted to encourage Jaune. Pyrrha had known that if he had succeeded, Jaune would have been over the moon with joy, and despite the sorrow that it would bring her, that would have made her happy. As the year progressed and Jaune's infatuation with the heiress had declined, Pyrrha had allowed herself to hope that Jaune might become affectionate with her. Still, she had made no move, not wanting to inconvenience her leader if her feelings weren't reciprocated. The first time she had allowed her true feelings to surface was on the roof the night before all of this started when she had pinned Jaune by straddling him. It hadn't been an overly aggressive act, but Pyrrha had wanted to get close to Jaune. She had cheated a bit by doing so in their sparring match.

Then, as it became evidently clear that he might very well never see her again and Pyrrha wasn't sure she could handle it, he had kissed her. It had been magnificent, but Pyrrha wasn't sure how she felt about it. She wasn't sure if it was better or worse to know that he felt the same as her just before he went.

That's why she didn't want to be in class right now. Pyrrha wanted to know whether she would get the chance to see her partner again. She was scared that they would leave each other as it was. Pyrrha had never had much of a chance to develop any deep relationships before Beacon, and losing Jaune, the most important of them all, would be a devastating blow.

_And what if he stays?_ She thought to herself. Butterflies flitted through her stomach at the thought. Their feelings for each other had become evident, but Pyrrha didn't know what that meant. She had no experience in the field of relationships, and she didn't know where to go from there. She loved the thought of going on a date with Jaune, perhaps having a nice dinner in Vale.

Despite her own desires though, she didn't know what Jaune would want to do, and all of it was irrelevant if he wasn't still at Beacon when she returned to the dorm twenty minutes from then. When she had spoken with him last night, he had seemed pretty convinced that he wouldn't be returning.

A soft ahem woke Pyrrha from her reverie. She looked over at Weiss, who raised an eyebrow at her pointedly. Pyrrha smiled to her in thanks, turning back to the teacher. She studiously took notes for the remainder of class to stop thoughts of Jaune from pushing their way back into her mind. Too soon though, the bell rung. Pyrrha's heart jolted and her insides twisted in apprehension as the students were dismissed.

Pyrrha remained seated, taking deep breaths. She tried to stay calm, but she could feel her heart beating erratically. In a few minutes, however long it took her to walk back to her dorm, she would find out whether or not Jaune was still going to be apart of her life. She closed her eyes, trying to stop herself from thinking.

"Are you alright?" Weiss asked, phrasing it almost accusingly. Pyrrha's eyes snapped open.

"I'm," Pyrrha paused, collecting herself. "I'm fine, thank you." She said in her practiced lilting tones. She stood next to Weiss, who looked unconvinced.

"Lately you've been anti-social, unpredictable and distant. You're acting like Blake. Are you sure you're alright? I know it must be hard with Jaune potentially leaving." Pyrrha was very impressed with Weiss. At the start of the year, Pyrrha had no doubt that Weiss would have simply ignored anyone else's troubles, but she had come a long way.

"I suppose I'll find out in a minute." Pyrrha said, breaking eye contact with the heiress. Though Weiss' concern seemed genuine, there was nothing she could do. Weiss nodded curtly and strode away, following Ruby. The two were the only members of team RWBY that had made it through the entire day of classes. Pyrrha hoped that maybe Yang and Blake were reconciling.

Finding herself with no reason to stay in the classroom anymore, Pyrrha exited and started walking slowly through the hallways that led back to her dorm. Ren and Nora were already gone, though Pyrrha had no way of knowing if they were returning to the room or if Nora was pulling her partner along to some unknown activity.

She wandered slowly, her footsteps hesitant and fearful. Pyrrha wanted to sprint to her room, throw the door open and see Jaune waiting for her inside, but her fear of opening the door and finding nothing slowed her to a crawling pace. It took a long time for her to round the corner that led to her and RWBY's rooms. She walked down the hallway, looking around for some clue as to whether Jaune was there or not. Her efforts were to no avail though, and Pyrrha continued until she stood in front of the door to her room.

She laid her hand on the door nob, taking a deep breath before twisting it and throwing it open.

"And, um, what might your decision be sir?" Jaune asked, his stomach churning in nervousness. His entire future hinged on what the professor would say next. Any chance he had at becoming a huntsman could be crushed in a moment, along with his chances of seeing Pyrrha again. On the other hand, if his headmaster let him stay, then Jaune's whole world would open up again.

"Well, the whole point of the entry transcripts is to determine whether or no you are capable of becoming a huntsman. There have been students accepted without complete transcripts before, such as Ruby. Over the year I have had ample opportunity to track your progress and actions. I believe I have seen enough to judge whether you have the necessary skills." Jaune's mind was immediately filled with all of his failures and mishaps. He certainly was not the most huntsman like person in Beacon. He lacked grace, confidence and skill. Jaune lowered his head.

"Jaune, I think you have what it takes to be a great huntsman. Someday, with the right guidance, you could be revered just as your forefathers. However, your skills at this point might put you at a point where you could be a liability to yourself and for those around you. You're a good person Jaune, and that goes a long way Though you are accountable for your actions off the battlefield, as you have proved today, I don't want to endanger your team." Jaune was completely uncertain as to whether he felt good or bad about what the professor was saying.

"As such, your position at Beacon won't be decided today. Your combat probation will still be the deciding factor. A few days from now, you will compete in the tournament, and if you do not best three opponents, I'm afraid I won't be able to risk you endangering yourself and your teammates. Your transcripts won't be important anymore if you can prove that you can live up to what they say you can. You should get back to training, Jaune. You are dismissed."

Jaune stood there for a moment, his mind reeling.

"Thank you s-sir." He managed to finally stutter before turning away and walking out of the room.

A smile grew across Pyrrha's face as she looked at Jaune lying in his bed. The fear and nerves that had been growing inside her all day fell away and were replaced with irrevocable joy. Jaune saw her and rose from his spot at the desk. He walked towards her and wrapped his arms around her. Pyrrha rested her hands on his chest, allowing him to enfold her in his embrace. She smiled wickedly and pulled away so she could drape her arms around his neck. She brought her forehead to rest against his, and looked into his ocean blue eyes.

"You're still here." She whispered, unable to hide the relief that was coursing through her body like electricity.

"Yep, seems that way." Jaune said, grinning. He leaned in, and Pyrrha's heart started to beat faster as she closed her eyes.

"Oops!" Came a loud voice from behind them. Pyrrha whirled away from Jaune, but as she turned she grasped his hand behind her back. Behind her Ren and Nora were standing in the doorway. "Um, we'll come back later?" Nora said, intoning it as a question. Pyrrha could feel heat rising to her cheeks.

"No! That's fine." Pyrrha's cheeks were burning, but she really didn't mind. It would be selfish of her to rob them of their own time with Jaune since he was still here.

Jaune was still here. The reality of it washed over Pyrrha like a wave of joy. Pyrrha felt a smile pulling at her lips the more she thought about that. He was still with her, for now, and that made so much more possible.

**So Jaune's sticking around for a while! Will he make it through the tournament or not? :D Anyways, some book keeping stuff. When I uploaded the last chapter it was late and I was half asleep. For some reason, I put the twentieth chapter as chapter 21 by accident. The chapters are still in the right order, it was just a typo, so don't worry! You didn't miss out on any story there. This one's being uploaded as chapter 22; I'm just going to treat it like chapter 20 never happened to avoid further confusion. Other than that, next chapter will focus heavily on Blake and Yang, so sorry if you missed them this week. They'll be coming back. Other than that, I hope you're enjoying the story! As always, comments, suggestions and any input you have is appreciated. Hopefully I'll be able to stay on schedule for next week, so see ya then!**


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